kosher means fit for use or consumption, in accordance with Jewish law (especially relating to food). It carries an Arena rating of 1385, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, kosher ranks #1,817 of 14,297 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,123 of 14,414 for Most Elegant Words, #3,827 of 14,308 for Most Malleable Words, #7,100 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say.
kosher is pronounced /ˈkəʊʃə/.
Why “kosher” is a great word
Conforming to Jewish dietary law, or more broadly, legitimate or acceptable according to a set of standards. From Yiddish כּשר (kosher), from Hebrew כָּשֵׁר (kashér, "fit, proper, lawful"), first attested in English in 1851. Unlike *treyf*, which denotes the ritually unfit and forbidden, or *halal*, which signifies permissibility under a separate divine code, kosher is not mere absence but the active presence of certification—the glint of a hechsher stamp on a tin, the precise geometry of a kitchen with two sinks, the quiet assurance of a mashgiach’s flashlight in a restaurant after hours. It is a tangible order imposed upon the chaos of consumption, a daily testament that the permissible is hard-won.
Etymology
Borrowed from Yiddish כּשר (kosher), from Hebrew כָּשֵׁר (kashér).
adj
- Fit for use or consumption, in accordance with Jewish law (especially relating to food).“Only in New York can you find a good, kosher hamburger!”
- Observant of the rules of kashrut (of a person or establishment).“"Are you kosher?" "No, I love to eat scallops."”
- In accordance with standards or usual practice.“Is what I have done kosher with Mr. Smith?”
adv
- In a kosher manner; in accordance with kashrut.“Just like eating halal is not a choice for our Muslim brothers and sisters, for us, eating kosher is not voluntary; it’s who we are and as necessary as the oxygen we need for sustenance.”
verb
- To kasher; to prepare (for example, meat) in conformity with the requirements of the Jewish law.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- hashgacha 84% match — Divine providence vs kosher →
- halacha 83% match — A law or tradition by which Jews live. They are derived from the Torah and from later rabbinic literature. vs kosher →
- shochet 83% match — A person certified under Jewish law to slaughter cattle and poultry vs kosher →
- derech 82% match — The path of propriety or righteousness, or especially of Hasidism or Judaism. vs kosher →
- mitzva 82% match — A meritorious deed or action. vs kosher →
- shabbos 82% match — Shabbat or shabbat (the biblical seventh-day Sabbath). vs kosher →
- takkanah 81% match — A law created by the rabbis not derived from Biblical commandments. vs kosher →
- minhag 81% match — a longstanding religious custom or tradition that is not required by Jewish law vs kosher →