kosher

English

WOTD – 12 May 2016

A kosher McDonald's in Argentina

Etymology

From Yiddish כּשר (kosher), from Hebrew כָּשֵׁר (kashér).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkəʊʃə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈkoʊʃɚ/
• (rare, Yiddish-influenced) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔʃə(ɹ)/, /ˈkɑʃə(ɹ)/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊʃə(ɹ)

Adjective

kosher (comparative more kosher, superlative most kosher)

2. (Judaism) Fit for use or consumption, in accordance with Jewish law (especially relating to food).

   Only in New York can you find a good, kosher hamburger!

   David's mother kept a kosher kitchen, with separate sets of dishes for meat and for dairy.

   In order for a suit to be kosher, it cannot contain both wool and linen together.

4. (figuratively, by extension) In accordance with standards or usual practice.

   Is what I have done kosher with Mr. Smith?

Antonyms

• treyf

Derived terms

• eco-kosher
• kosherize
• kosherly
• kosherness
• kosher pickle
• kosher salt
• kosher-style
• kosher tax
• nonkosher
• unkosher

 

Related terms

• kasher
• kashrut

Translations

in accordance with Jewish law

• Arabic: كُوشِر (kūšir), كَشِر (kašir)
• Aramaic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: կոշերային (košerayin)
• Bulgarian: каше́р (kašér)
• Catalan: caixer (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 潔食／洁食 (zh) (jiéshí)

• Czech: košer (cs)
• Dutch: koosjer (nl)
• Esperanto: koŝera
• Estonian: koššer
• Finnish: košer (fi)
• French: casher (fr), kascher (fr)
• Georgian: კოშერი (ḳošeri)
• German: koscher (de)
• Greek: καθαρός (el) (katharós)
• Hebrew: כָּשֵׁר (he) (kasher)
• Hungarian: kóser (hu)
• Italian: kasher
• Japanese: コーシャ (kōsha)
• Korean: 코셔 (kosyeo)
• Ladino: kacher
• Persian: کاشر (kâšer), کوشر (košer)
• Polish: koszerny (pl)
• Portuguese: kosher (pt)
• Romanian: cușer (ro)
• Russian: коше́рный (ru) (košérnyj)
• Spanish: kosher (es)
• Swedish: kosher (sv)
• Turkish: koşer (tr), kaşer (tr)
• Ukrainian: кошерний (košernyj)
• Urdu: کوشر
• West Frisian: kasjêre
• Yiddish: כּשר (kosher)

figuratively, normal or standard

• Czech: košer (cs)
• Dutch: koosjer (nl)
• French: casher (fr)
• Hungarian: kóser (hu)
• Romanian: cúșer (ro)

Adverb

kosher (not comparable)

1. In a kosher manner; in accordance with kashrut.
   • 2020 August 20, Eliezer Brand, “ICE is forcing Muslims to eat pork. My fellow Orthodox Jews: This is our fight!”, in The Forward‎^[1]:

     Just like eating halal is not a choice for our Muslim brothers and sisters, for us, eating kosher is not voluntary; it’s who we are and as necessary as the oxygen we need for sustenance.

Verb

kosher (third-person singular simple present koshers, present participle koshering, simple past and past participle koshered)

1. (transitive) To kasher; to prepare (for example, meat) in conformity with the requirements of the Jewish law.

Translations

make kosher — see kasher

See also

• halal

Portuguese

Adjective

kosher (invariable)

1. (of food) kosher (prepared in accordance with Jewish religious practices)

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkoʃeɾ/ [ˈko.ʃeɾ]
  • Rhymes: -oʃeɾ
• IPA^(key): /ˈkoseɾ/ [ˈko.seɾ]
  • Rhymes: -oseɾ
• Syllabification: ko‧sher

Adjective

kosher m or f (masculine and feminine plural kosheres)

1. kosher

Further reading

• “kosher”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28

Swedish

Adjective

kosher (not comparable)

1. alternative spelling of koscher

References

• kosher in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• kosher in Svensk ordbok (SO)