Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
3,917,669,245 visitors served.
forum Join the Word of the Day Mailing List For webmasters
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

poshness

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
posh  (psh)
adj. posh·er, posh·est
Smart and fashionable. See Synonyms at fashionable.

[Perhaps posh, halfpenny, money, dandy, from Romany h.]

poshly adv.
poshness n.
Word History: "Oh yes, Mater, we had a posh time of it down there." So in Punch for September 25, 1918, do we find the first recorded instance posh, meaning "smart and fashionable." A popular theory holds that it is derived from the initials of "Port Out, Starboard Home," the cooler, and thus more expensive, side of ships traveling between England and India in the mid-19th century. The acronym POSH was supposedly stamped on the tickets of first-class passengers traveling on that side of ships owned by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. No known evidence supports this theory, however. Another word posh was 19th- and early 20th-century British slang for "money," specifically "a halfpenny, cash of small value." This word is borrowed from the Romany word h, "half," which was used in combinations such as hera, "halfpenny." Posh, also meaning "a dandy," is recorded in two dictionaries of slang, published in 1890 and 1902, although this particular posh may be still another word. This word or these words are, however, much more likely to be the source of posh than "Port Out, Starboard Home," although the latter source certainly has caught the public's etymological fancy.
Translations
poshness
nFeinheit f, → Vornehmheit f; (of accent)Vornehmheit f, → Distinguierte(s) nt


Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Feedback
Add definition
Mentioned in?  References in periodicals archive?   Dictionary browser?   Full browser?
No references found
 
Maybe it was a longing to fit in, but that didn't happen anyway because I surpassed them in their poshness.
There’s a certain kind of poshness and intelligence about the actress that’s natural, but her casting as the blond unattainable beauty works; her long, flaxen tresses and sad eyes reminded us of Great Expectations (in a good way
For late arrivals at the etiquette class, on Monday night John Prescott and the Earl of Onslow were arguing about privilege and poshness in BBC's Prescott: the Class System and Me, while Prescott's wife, Pauline, was puzzling over the much trickier business of how to tell an Earl that his flies were undone.
 
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Terms of Use | Privacy policy | Feedback | Advertise with Us | Copyright © 2012 Farlex, Inc.
Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.