Etymology

badmash

B3A1D2M3A1S1H4

Today it means: A rogue, ruffian or miscreant. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Hindustani ← Persian بدمعاش ← Arabic عَاشَ
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Arabic · derived fromعَاشَ“to live”
  2. Persian · derived fromبدمعاش
  3. Hindustani · borrowed from
  4. English todaybadmash

Borrowed from Hindustani بدمعاش (badm'āś) / बदमाश (badmāś) and its source, Persian بدمعاش (badma'âš), from بد (bad, “bad, evil”) + معاش (ma'âš, “life, livelihood”), ultimately from Arabic عَاشَ (ʕāša, “to live”). Compare lowlife, which is a similar formation in English.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. A rogue, ruffian or miscreant.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.