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ko·sher

(kōshər)

adj.

1. Judaism

a. Conforming to dietary laws; ritually pure: kosher meat.

b. Observing dietary laws: a kosher household.

c. Selling or serving food prepared in accordance with dietary laws: a kosher restaurant.

2. Informal Legitimate; permissible: Is it kosher to wear jeans in the office?

tr.v. ko·shered, ko·sher·ing, ko·shers

To make proper or ritually pure.

Idiom:

keep kosher

To observe Jewish dietary laws.

[Yiddish kosher, from Ashkenazi Hebrew kóšer, from Hebrew kāšēr, fitting, proper, from kāšēr, to be fitting, to succeed; see kṯr in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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