This week’s theme
Words borrowed from Persian

This week’s words
satrap
dervish
baksheesh
ayatollah
pasha

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(BAK-sheesh)

MEANING:

noun: A payment, such as a tip or bribe.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Persian bakhshish, from bakhshidan, from baksh (to give). Ultimately from the Indo-European root bhag- (to share) that is also the source of nebbish, Sanskrit bhagya (good fortune), and words related to -phagy (eating), such as onychophagia (the biting of one’s nails) and xerophagy (the eating of dry food). Earliest documented use: 1686.

USAGE:

“She scattered baksheesh like manna from the heavens: she bestowed her bounty on everyone.”
Sally Beauman; The Visitors; Harper; 2014.

See more usage examples of baksheesh in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: