Bakhshish

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A voluntary payment or tip often given to express appreciation or favor, which may also serve as a charitable offering to those in need and is commonly recognized in various cultural practices
2. A discretionary sum of money given in recognition of service or goodwill, sometimes acting as aid to the less fortunate and often integrated into social customs of gratitude
3. A customary gift or financial donation given freely to show gratitude or support, which can also function as assistance to the impoverished and is prevalent in many traditions

Etymology: Persian "baxšidan" meant "to give, grant, bestow," and from it came "baxšiš," a present or gift. Turkish took this into "bahşiş," and English later borrowed the Turkish form in its variant spelling "baksheesh." The word's core meaning has stayed remarkably steady: it has always named something handed over freely, whether a gift from a superior or a small payment for service. Over time the sense narrowed in English. The earliest meanings covered a broad range of gratuities, from honorary gifts to what we would call drink-money, but in modern use the word mostly refers to a tip given to a waiter, porter, or other service worker. Travelers in the Middle East and South Asia encountered it as a near-universal custom, which is why English adopted it for a practice that the language had not previously needed a single word for.