entry
squish
/skwɪʃ/Squeeze or crush something soft or moist
From English, probably influenced by Scots and French/Occitan forms squish (To squeeze).
Word Ancestry
Imagine a wet sponge meeting an impatient hand: English has long enjoyed words that seem to imitate the sound and sensation of pressure, and squish belongs to that wonderfully messy family. It appeared as a verb in the 1640s, probably as a playful alteration of squash, though the older English squiss—“to squeeze or crush,” recorded in the 1550s—may also have nudged it into shape. Scots had squische and squies, while French esquicher came through Old Occitan esquichar, so the word seems to have traveled through a whole corridor of consonant-heavy squeezing sounds rather than descending from one perfectly tidy ancestor. Its relatives squeeze and squelch reinforce the same sound-symbolic atmosphere: pressure, wetness, and an unpleasant little noise. Then, in modern asexual-community usage, squish was given a second life: a 2007 forum coinage described a platonic crush, turning emotional closeness into the verbal equivalent of wanting to hug someone until they become a cheerful little blob.
The Story
Imagine a wet sponge meeting an impatient hand: English has long enjoyed words that seem to imitate the sound and sensation of pressure, and squish belongs to that wonderfully messy family. It appeared as a verb in the 1640s, probably as a playful alteration of squash, though the older English squiss—“to squeeze or crush,” recorded in the 1550s—may also have nudged it into shape. Scots had squische and squies, while French esquicher came through Old Occitan esquichar, so the word seems to have traveled through a whole corridor of consonant-heavy squeezing sounds rather than descending from one perfectly tidy ancestor. Its relatives squeeze and squelch reinforce the same sound-symbolic atmosphere: pressure, wetness, and an unpleasant little noise. Then, in modern asexual-community usage, squish was given a second life: a 2007 forum coinage described a platonic crush, turning emotional closeness into the verbal equivalent of wanting to hug someone until they become a cheerful little blob.
Modern Usage
A platonic crush involving a desire for emotional closeness; also an adorably cute person
Popularized by: Raisin on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network forums in 2007
Notable References
- A 1997 episode of Aaahh!!! Real Monsters used squish with a similar meaning, apparently independently
Kin & Kindred
From 'squish'·To squeeze, crush, or compress, especially something soft or moist
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary