''Baksheesh'' (from ) is tipping,

charitable giving Charity is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need. It serves as a humanitarian act, and is unmotivated by self-interest. Various philosophies about charity exist, with frequent associations with religion. Etymology The word ''ch ...

, and certain forms of

political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...

and

bribery Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or Offer and acceptance, acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official ...

in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Etymology and usage

''Baksheesh'' comes from the Persian word (), which originated from the

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

language. The word had also moved to other cultures and countries. In the

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, Bosnian, Bulgarian,

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

, and

Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

s, ''bakshish'' or бакшиш means "tip" in the conventional western sense. In Greek, μπαξίσι () can mean a gift in general. In

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, ''Bakschisch'' is a small bribe (in Romanian as well, depending on the context; usually employed as a euphemism to ''șpagă'', which means outright bribe). In

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

, the word ''buqxiex'' refers to a very small payment.

Types

*Charity (virtue), Charity to beggars: In Pakistan, beggars solicit alms by crying "''baksheesh, baba!''". * Tipping: This does not correlate with the European system of tipping, as it also includes demonstrations of gratitude, respect, or veneration. An offering to the deity, gods may be considered ''baksheesh''. A ''faqir'' may also ask for ''baksheesh'', but no thought is in his mind that he is begging. In fact, in Pakistan and the Muslim world, the giver of alms often salutes the beggar for having been given the opportunity to gain :wikt:merit, merit. In Egypt, ''baksheesh'' is often requested on top of fares to taxi drivers, and as service charges to waiters, doormen, shopkeepers, garage attendants, and many others employed in service-sector jobs. * Outright

: In countries with Corruption index, endemic corruption, for instance, a member of the police force, a migration or customs officer, or any other type of government official may be swayed from legitimately or illegitimately arresting, issuing a fine, or imposing a tax on someone by a suitable payment of ''baksheesh'' which would constitute a bribe, whether it was offered to the official or requested by the official.

In literature

When American mythologist Joseph Campbell travelled on his wikt:maiden voyage, maiden visit to India in 1954, he encountered pervasive begging which he called the "Baksheesh Complex". Mark Twain, after riding through the Bible, Biblical town of Magdala in 1867, makes note of his encounter with beggars and the term ''bucksheesh'' in his published work ''The Innocents Abroad'': "They hung to the horses' tails, clung to their manes and the stirrups, closed in on every side in scorn of dangerous hoofs—and out of their infidel throats, with one accord, burst an agonizing and most infernal chorus: ''wikt:howadji, Howajji, bucksheesh! howajji, bucksheesh! howajji, bucksheesh! bucksheesh! bucksheesh!'' I never was in a storm like that before." Leo Deuel, a writer on archaeology, sardonically described ''baksheesh'' as "lavish remuneration and bribes, rudely demanded but ever so graciously accepted by the natives in return for little or no services rendered".

References

External links

''From'' ''Baksheesh to Bribery: Understanding the Global Fight Against Corruption and Graft''
edited by T. Markus Funk and Andrew S. Boutros, Oxford University Press, {{Corruption Charity Persian words and phrases Bribery bg:Бакшиш

Etymology and usage

Types

In literature

See also

References

External links