Resembling an ape in behavior or appearance; silly, foolish, or showing lack of intelligence.
From Middle English 'apish,' combining 'ape' (Old English 'apa,' from Proto-Germanic *apan-) with the suffix '-ish' meaning 'like' or 'characterized by.' The word emerged in the 13th century.
Shakespeare loved using 'apish' as an insult, and it shows how Renaissance thinkers were obsessed with the great chain of being—positioning humans just above apes intellectually!
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