wannishadj.
/ˈwɒnɪʃ/ Somewhat wan; somewhat pale, dull, lustreless, or livid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [adjective] > dull
fadec1290
wannish?a1412
obscure1490
sada1539
dull1552
smoky1576
sober1603
dead1640
dirty1665
invivid1669
dusty1676
saddisha1678
austere1680
worn-out1731
sombrous1792
sombre1805
toneless1833
lacklustre1843
the world > matter > colour > state or mode of having colour > [adjective] > dull coloured
wannish?a1412
colourless1557
sullena1586
sober1603
dingy1665
dunduckety1818
duckety1841
drabbish1842
neutral-tinted1844
drabby1862
drab1880
drably-tinted1891
terne1901
?a1412 J. Lydgate Fabula Duorum Merc. 326 His vryne..was ful thynne and wannyssh for to see.
1540 R. Jonas tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde ii. f. lxvii The whiche causethe..the eye sight to waxe wannysshe or tawnye.
a1547 Earl of Surrey This Name in Poems 13 And eke the wanishe moone whiche sheenes by night also.
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 438/2 With blacke wannish spots.
1594 R. Carew tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne iv. 138 He that graund foe was aie to humaine kind, His wannish eyes [It. i liuidi occhi] doth on the Christians cast.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxi. xxi. 108 The day Lillie Hemerocalles, hath leaves of a pale and wannish greene colour.
1645 J. Milton Passion v, in Poems 18 The leaves should all be black wheron I write, And letters where my tears have washt a wannish white.
1785 W. Cowper Task i. 309 Paler some, And of a wannish gray.
1820 J. Keats Lamia i, in Lamia & Other Poems 6 Upon her crest she wore a wannish fire.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud vi. i, in Maud & Other Poems 24 No sun, but a wannish glare In fold upon fold of hueless cloud.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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adj.?a1412