becher (English)

Where does "becher" come from?

The English noun 'becher', meaning a kiddush cup[1], was borrowed from Yiddish 'בעכער'[1], which means 'goblet'[1]. The Yiddish term derives from Middle High German 'becher', coming from Old High German 'behhari'[2]. This traces back further to Late Latin 'bīcārium', meaning 'wine vat, jug'[2]. The Late Latin word likely originates from Ancient Greek '*βικάριον', a diminutive of 'βῖκος'[3], meaning 'vase'[3]. The Ancient Greek term is probably derived from Egyptian 'bꜣkt'[4], signifying an oil flask[4], which is formed from 'bꜣk'[5], meaning 'servant'[5]. Furthermore, 'becher' is a doublet of both 'beaker' and 'pitcher'[1].

Open questions

The Late Latin form bīcārium is held to be a variant of bacarium or bacar, and its derivation from Ancient Greek is uncertain. [2] [3]
The Ancient Greek term bîkos is probably from Egyptian bꜣkt, though historical relations remain uncertain. [4] [5]

Full etymology tree

becher (English), 'A kiddush cup'
- borrowed בעכער (bekher) (Yiddish), 'goblet, drinking cup'
  - inherited becher (Middle High German)
    - inherited behhari (Old High German)
      - borrowed bicarium (Latin), 'drinking glass'
        borrowed *βικάριον (*bikárion) (Ancient Greek)
        derived βῖκος (bîkos) (Ancient Greek), 'amphora, jar, any vase with handles, especially one containing wine'
        borrowed bꜣkt (Egyptian), 'servant'
        affix bꜣk (Egyptian), 'to work (+ m: on (something); + n: for (someone))'
        suffix -t (Egyptian), 'Used to form feminine singular forms of nouns.'

Ancestors

בעכער (Yiddish)

Cognates and doublets

beaker (English)
pitcher (English)

Sources

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris