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Today it means

bosh

nonsense; empty, foolish talk

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Where does the word "bosh" come from? It comes from Turkish boş, and was adopted directly into English (1839).

Read the full story

Where does the word "bosh" come from? It comes from Turkish boş, and was adopted directly into English (1839).

Bosh’s story begins in Turkish: boş meant “empty, worthless.” Literally meant "empty". It reached English by 1839 as bosh. Popularized by James Justinian Morier's novel "Ayesha". Today, bosh means nonsense; empty, foolish talk.

  1. Stage 1 · Turkish · 1800s boş "empty, worthless", literally meant "empty".
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1839 bosh "nonsense", popularized by James Justinian Morier's novel "Ayesha".

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