posh, dosh and nosh

[vittoria]

I think I know posh and its origin (Port Out, Starboard Home) but can anybody tell me where dosh and nosh come from? and confirm the meaning: I think dosh is money and nosh is food? Thanks.

[incitatus]

Dosh is money and nosh food, yes. Nosh is from Jewish roots... it comes from the Yiddish Nashn, to eat (slyly). Dosh I'm not sure about.

[sgs]

...and nor is the Shorter Oxford Dictionary. Any educated guesses?

[ravenhair]

Dosh is a tricky one . . . the main theories are as follows: (1) it comes from the same root as "doss", meaning to sleep and could refer to money to pay for one's room (I think both of those will be linked to "dorsum", Latin for back); (2) could be a corruption of an old word "dash" (don't know where this one comes from) whch means a tip; (3) it's a blend of dollars and cash.

[incitatus]

One further is that it is a rhyming couple for dish. As in to dish out. Many examples of such couples (trip trap, helter skelter, willy nilly (though that one is slightly different)) crop up in 17th century vernacular. Dosh as that which is dished out (surprisingly this is an ancient usage), ie the proceeds of an enterprise, is a charming notion.