cobber

The story

1. Hebrew · derived fromחבר“friend”
2. Yiddish · derived fromחבֿר“friend, comrade”
3. English todaycobber

Uncertain. Perhaps from Yiddish חבֿר (khaver, “friend, comrade”), from Hebrew חבר (ḥāḇēr, “friend”), possibly via Dutch gabber; alternately, perhaps from the British dialectal term cob (“take a liking to”), or a conflation of both. The suggestion that it is a self-referential collective term for convicts and immigrants who departed for Australian shores from the Irish port of Cobh seems chronologically unlikely. Another source could stem from the pre federation mail and passenger service Cobb and Co.

Words from the same roots