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Kibosh

2 stages from Irish to English.

Today it means (put the kibosh on) to put a decisive end to something

Where does the word "kibosh" come from? It comes from Irish caidhp bháis, adopted directly into English (1830s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
caidhp bháis
Irish · 1800s
"cap of death"
'cap of death', the black cap a judge put on to pass a death sentence; one proposed source among several (Yiddish and the heraldic 'caboshed' are others), so the origin is unsettled
2
Stage 2 of 2
kibosh
English · 1830s
"something that ends a matter"
first recorded in Charles Dickens's Sketches by Boz (1836) as 'kye-bosk'
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Kibosh’s story begins in Irish: caidhp bháis meant “cap of death.” 'cap of death', the black cap a judge put on to pass a death sentence; one proposed source among several (Yiddish and the heraldic 'caboshed' are others), so the origin is unsettled. It reached English by 1830s as kibosh. First recorded in Charles Dickens's Sketches by Boz (1836) as 'kye-bosk'. Today, kibosh means (put the kibosh on) to put a decisive end to something.