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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

posh.

Associated with the upper classes.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/pɑʃ/General-American/pɒʃ/Received-Pronunciation/pəʊʃ/Received-Pronunciation
  1. Associated with the upper classes.

    She talks with a posh accent.
  2. Stylish; elegant; exclusive; luxurious; expensive.

    After the performance, they went out to a very posh restaurant.
  3. Snobbish, materialistic, prejudiced, under the illusion that one is better than everyone else.

    Northern-England · Scotland · especially · offensive · usually
    We have a right posh git moving in next door.
Where this word comes from

Unknown. Most likely derived from Romani posh (“half”), either because posh-kooroona (“half a crown”) (originally a substantial sum of money) was used metaphorically for anything pricey or upper-class, or because posh-houri (“half-penny”) came to refer to money generally. A period slang dictionary defines "posh" as a term used by thieves for "money : generic, but specifically, a halfpenny or other small coin". An example is given from James Payn's The Eavesdropper (1888): "They used such funny terms: 'brads,' and 'dibbs,' and 'mopusses,' and 'posh' ... at last it was borne in upon me that they were talking about money." Evidence exists for a slang sense from the 1890s meaning dandy, which is quite possibly related. A popular folk etymology holds that the term is an acronym for "port out, starboard home", describing the cooler, north-facing cabins taken by the most aristocratic or rich passengers travelling from Britain to India and back. However, there is no evidence for this claim. It could also possibly be a clipping of polished. See also the articles mentioned in the References section below for additional discussion.

intj/pɑʃ/General-American/pɒʃ/Received-Pronunciation/pəʊʃ/Received-Pronunciation
  1. An exclamation expressing derision.

Where this word comes from

Unknown. Most likely derived from Romani posh (“half”), either because posh-kooroona (“half a crown”) (originally a substantial sum of money) was used metaphorically for anything pricey or upper-class, or because posh-houri (“half-penny”) came to refer to money generally. A period slang dictionary defines "posh" as a term used by thieves for "money : generic, but specifically, a halfpenny or other small coin". An example is given from James Payn's The Eavesdropper (1888): "They used such funny terms: 'brads,' and 'dibbs,' and 'mopusses,' and 'posh' ... at last it was borne in upon me that they were talking about money." Evidence exists for a slang sense from the 1890s meaning dandy, which is quite possibly related. A popular folk etymology holds that the term is an acronym for "port out, starboard home", describing the cooler, north-facing cabins taken by the most aristocratic or rich passengers travelling from Britain to India and back. However, there is no evidence for this claim. It could also possibly be a clipping of polished. See also the articles mentioned in the References section below for additional discussion.

noun/pɑʃ/General-American/pɒʃ/Received-Pronunciation/pəʊʃ/Received-Pronunciation
  1. A halfpenny or other coin of little value.

    UK · countable · obsolete · slang
  2. Money.

    UK · obsolete · slang · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Unknown. Most likely derived from Romani posh (“half”), either because posh-kooroona (“half a crown”) (originally a substantial sum of money) was used metaphorically for anything pricey or upper-class, or because posh-houri (“half-penny”) came to refer to money generally. A period slang dictionary defines "posh" as a term used by thieves for "money : generic, but specifically, a halfpenny or other small coin". An example is given from James Payn's The Eavesdropper (1888): "They used such funny terms: 'brads,' and 'dibbs,' and 'mopusses,' and 'posh' ... at last it was borne in upon me that they were talking about money." Evidence exists for a slang sense from the 1890s meaning dandy, which is quite possibly related. A popular folk etymology holds that the term is an acronym for "port out, starboard home", describing the cooler, north-facing cabins taken by the most aristocratic or rich passengers travelling from Britain to India and back. However, there is no evidence for this claim. It could also possibly be a clipping of polished. See also the articles mentioned in the References section below for additional discussion.

verb/pɑʃ/General-American/pɒʃ/Received-Pronunciation/pəʊʃ/Received-Pronunciation
  1. To make posh or posher (more posh).

Where this word comes from

Unknown. Most likely derived from Romani posh (“half”), either because posh-kooroona (“half a crown”) (originally a substantial sum of money) was used metaphorically for anything pricey or upper-class, or because posh-houri (“half-penny”) came to refer to money generally. A period slang dictionary defines "posh" as a term used by thieves for "money : generic, but specifically, a halfpenny or other small coin". An example is given from James Payn's The Eavesdropper (1888): "They used such funny terms: 'brads,' and 'dibbs,' and 'mopusses,' and 'posh' ... at last it was borne in upon me that they were talking about money." Evidence exists for a slang sense from the 1890s meaning dandy, which is quite possibly related. A popular folk etymology holds that the term is an acronym for "port out, starboard home", describing the cooler, north-facing cabins taken by the most aristocratic or rich passengers travelling from Britain to India and back. However, there is no evidence for this claim. It could also possibly be a clipping of polished. See also the articles mentioned in the References section below for additional discussion.

noun
  1. A sudden and heavy fall or gush of rain or water.

    countable · dialectal · uncountable
  2. Fragments produced by an impact.

    uncountable
  3. Slush.

    uncountable
Where this word comes from

Compare pash (“smash, bash; of rain: fall heavily”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.