Kentish

/ˈkɛn.tɪʃ/

Kentish proper noun: the dialect of Modern English spoken in Kent.

Proper noun

Kentish

The dialect of Modern English spoken in Kent.
A dialect of Old English that was spoken in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Kent.
A surname.
A local government area in northern Tasmania, Australia; in full, Kentish Council.

Kentish (comparative more Kentish, superlative most Kentish)

Of or relating to Kent or its inhabitants.
- On leaving Wye, we find the country changing character; the Downs come closer to the line, and grazing gives way to orchards and hop-gardens, with pleasant farm buildings, including oasthouses, another characteristic Kentish sight.1952 July, A. W. V. Mace, “The Ashford, Canterbury, and Ramsgate Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 436
- The church has a high, typically Kentish, tower, begun in the 15th century, while parts of the main structure date from two centuries earlier.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 111
From the western part of Kent (whose inhabitants are traditionally called "Kentish men" and "Kentish maids"), as opposed to the eastern part (whose inhabitants are "men of Kent" and "maids of Kent").

comparative	more Kentish
superlative	most Kentish

From Kent + -ish.

What does Kentish mean?: Kentish means the dialect of Modern English spoken in Kent.
What part of speech is Kentish?: Kentish can be a proper noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce Kentish?: Kentish is pronounced /ˈkɛn.tɪʃ/ (UK).

Adapted from Wiktionary: Kentish (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Rho9998-Kentish.wav.

Cite this entry: “Kentish.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/kentish. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.