baksheesh · noun — in the Middle East or southwest Asia: a bribe or tip. It carries an Arena rating of 1537, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, baksheesh ranks #728 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,928 of 17,128 for Most Vivid Words, #2,940 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,412 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words.
baksheesh is pronounced /bækˈʃiːʃ/.
Why “baksheesh” is a great word
A small sum of money given as a tip, gratuity, or minor inducement, especially within the economies of the Middle East and South Asia, and by military extension, a trifling wound that earns a soldier a ticket home. From Turkish bahşiş, from Persian بخشیش (baxšiš, "gift, gratuity"), from بخشیدن (baxšidan, "to give, grant, bestow"), first recorded in English 1615–25. Unlike a "tip"—a neutral, transactional acknowledgment of service—or a "bribe"—a clandestine payment for illicit influence—baksheesh inhabits a crepuscular zone where generosity, obligation, and corruption are indistinct. It is the folded note pressed into a customs officer’s palm at a sweltering border, the extra rupee for the boy who carried your bag, and the nick from a spent bullet that becomes a blessing—the quiet, greased currency of a world where all favors have a price, and all prices are negotiable.
❧ Written by Lexicurio’s AI
Etymology
From Turkish bahşiş, from Persian بخشیش (baxšiš, “present; an honorary or pecuniary gratuity; drink-money”) or بخشش (baxšeš), from بخشیدن (baxšidan, “to give, grant, bestow”).
noun
- In the Middle East or southwest Asia: a bribe or tip.e.g.“What an honour to think that I am to be elevated to the throne, and to bring the seat in Parliament as backsheesh to the sultan!” — 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Temptation”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 265:
- A minor wound that necessitates the evacuation of a soldier from the combat zone for medical treatment.
verb
- To bribe with a baksheesh.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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