What does backshish mean?
Backshish refers to a gratuity, tip, or small payment given to someone for services rendered or as an act of charity, particularly within Middle Eastern, Turkish, and South Asian customs. The term entered European languages through contact with the Ottoman world, where offering a small payment to porters, guides, officials, or beggars was an entrenched social practice. English travellers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brought the word home, and it appears frequently in colonial-era travel writing as a byword for the informal payments expected at every turn. Though spelled variously — backshish, bakshish, baksheesh, bakhshish — all forms derive from the same Persian source meaning 'gift' or 'present'. Today the word survives mainly in historical fiction, travel literature, and discussions of tipping culture abroad; in everyday speech it has been almost entirely displaced by 'tip' or 'gratuity'. Its connotations range from generous courtesy to petty bribery, depending on context, which makes it a vivid word for describing economies where small cash payments oil the wheels of daily life.
nounA gratuity, tip, or small payment given to someone for services rendered or as alms, especially in Middle Eastern and South Asian contexts.
- A gratuity or tip given for services rendered, especially in the Middle East, Turkey, or South Asia.
- Alms or charity given to beggars or the poor.
"The porter lingered expectantly at the door until the traveller pressed a coin of backshish into his palm."
"The guide refused to continue up the mountain path until each tourist had offered backshish."
"In old Cairo, a little backshish smoothed nearly every transaction."
Rarely used in the plural; the word typically appears as an uncountable or singular mass noun referring to gratuity money generally.
"The beggars clustered at the gate hoping for backshishes from passing pilgrims."
This exotic-sounding word is really just 'tip' with centuries of Ottoman empire behind it — and its many spellings once confused English travellers so much that dictionaries still list half a dozen variants.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of backshish
Backshish derives from Persian بخشش (bakhshish), meaning a gift or present, transmitted into English through Turkish and Arabic usage during the Ottoman era. It was adopted by British travellers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, appearing under numerous spellings including bakshish, bakhshish, and baksheesh, of which baksheesh remains the most common form today. The underlying Persian verb bāxtan means 'to give as a gift', linking the word to a broader family of Persian terms for bestowal and reward.
How backshish is actually used
Now largely historical or literary; modern usage prefers 'baksheesh' when referring to the same custom. The spelling varies widely in older sources, including bakshish, bakhshish, and backsheesh.
Easily confused with backshish
A backslash is the computer keyboard character \, while backshish is a monetary gratuity.