nosh

Where does the word "nosh" come from? It comes from Yiddish nashn, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Nosh’s story begins in Yiddish: nashn meant “to nibble, snack.” Meaning "to nibble" or "snack". It reached English by 1900s as nosh. Yiddish 'nashn', to nibble; 'nosh bar' was a 1950s London term for a snack bar. Today, nosh means a light snack, or to eat one.

1. Stage 1 · Yiddish · medieval nashn "to nibble, snack", meaning "to nibble" or "snack".
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s nosh "to eat a snack, or the snack itself", Yiddish 'nashn', to nibble; 'nosh bar' was a 1950s London term for a snack bar.