бакшиш (Russian)
Where does "бакшиш" come from?
The Russian noun 'бакшиш' was borrowed from Turkish 'bahşiş'[1]. The Turkish word traces back to Ottoman Turkish 'بخشش'[2], which was borrowed from Classical Persian 'بخشیش'[3], meaning 'present; an honorary or pecuniary gratuity; drink-money'[present; an honorary or pecuniary gratuity; drink-money]. This Persian term ultimately descends through Middle Persian forms meaning 'bestowal, distribution'[4] and traces back through Proto-Iranian and Proto-Indo-Iranian roots to the Proto-Indo-European base '*bʰeh₂g-', meaning 'to distribute, allot'[5].
Open questions
- The exact path of borrowing into Russian involves a transition through Turkish from Persian origins. [1]
Full etymology tree
- бакшиш (Russian), 'tip (money)'
- borrowed bahşiş (Turkish), 'tip (small amount of money left for a servant as a token of appreciation)'
- inherited بخشش (bahşiş) (Ottoman Turkish), 'gift, present, boon, something given to another voluntarily, without charge'
- borrowed bahşiş (Turkish), 'tip (small amount of money left for a servant as a token of appreciation)'
Ancestors
- bahşiş (Turkish)
Sources
- бакшиш (Russian) - Wiktionary
- bahşiş (Turkish) - Wiktionary
- بخشش (bahşiş) (Ottoman Turkish) - Wiktionary
- بخشش (Persian) - Wiktionary
- بخشیدن (Persian) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris