いまわしい

Derived as the adjectivization of the verb 忌まう (imau, “to be detesting; to be avoiding, shunning”), the stative / iterative / repetitive form of 忌む (imu, “to detest; to avoid, shun”).

More specifically, although speculative, many modern -shii adjectives appear to be derivatives of the causative conjugation of the underlying verb. In certain styles of classical Japanese, the nominal / continuative form of a verb was used to conclude a statement. For classical causatives, this conjugation ended in -shi, and it seems that this may have been reinterpreted as the classical terminal / predicative conjugation for adjectives, which also ended in -shi. Compare 好む (konomu, “to prefer, to like”) → causative konomasu ("to make someone prefer something") → causative nominal / continuative konomashi → modern adjective 好ましい (konomashii, “having the quality of making someone like it → preferable, desirable”), or 疑う (utagau, “to doubt, to suspect”) → causative utagawasu ("to make someone doubt or suspect someone") → causative nominal / continuative utagawashi → modern adjective 疑わしい (utagawashii, “having the quality of making someone doubt or suspect it → doubtful, suspicious”).

First attested in the Tale of the Heike of the early 1200s.

• (Tokyo) いまわしい (Nakadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

いまわしい • (imawashii) ^{←いまはしい (imafasii)?}-i (adverbial いまわしく (imawashiku))

1. abhorrent, unpleasant, disgusting, hateful
2. disastrous, ominous, unlucky

• (antonym(s) of “abhorrent”): 喜(よろこ)ばしい (yorokobashii, “pleasant”)
• (antonym(s) of “disastrous”): 喜(よろこ)ばしい (yorokobashii), めでたい (medetai, “auspicious”)

• きもい (kimoi)
• 凶兆(きょうちょう) (kyōchō)