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Baksheesh (fromPersian:بخششbakhshesh^[1]) may have different meanings in different languages and countries includingtipping,charitable giving, and certain forms ofpolitical corruption andbribery in theMiddle East andSouth Asia.

Baksheesh comes from the Persian wordبخشش (bakhshesh), which originated from theMiddle Persian language.^[2]

The word had also moved to other cultures and countries. In theAlbanian,Arabic,Bosnian,Bulgarian,Indian,Macedonian,Romanian,Russian,Serbian, andTurkish languages,bakshish or bahşiş or бакшиш means "tip" in the conventional western sense, i.e. the tip for a waiter in a restaurant.^{[citation needed]} In Greek, μπαξίσι (baksisi) can mean a gift in general.^{[citation needed]} InGerman andFrench,Bakschisch is a small bribe^{[citation needed]} (in Romanian as well, depending on the context; usually employed as a euphemism toșpagă, which means outright bribe^{[citation needed]}). InMaltese, the wordbuqxiex refers to a very small payment.^{[citation needed]}

• Charity to beggars: InPakistan,beggars solicit alms by crying "baksheesh, baba!".^[3]
• Tipping: This does not correlate with the European system oftipping, as it also includes demonstrations of gratitude, respect, or veneration. An offering to thegods may be consideredbaksheesh. Afaqir may also ask forbaksheesh, but no thought is in his mind that he is begging. In fact, in Pakistan and theMuslim world, the giver of alms often salutes the beggar for having been given the opportunity to gainmerit. InEgypt,baksheesh is often requested on top of fares to taxi drivers, and as service charges to waiters, doormen, shopkeepers, garage attendants, and many others employed in service-sector jobs.^{[citation needed]}
• Outrightbribery: In countries withendemic corruption, for instance, a member of the police force, a migration or customs officer, or any other type of government official may be swayed from legitimately or illegitimately arresting, issuing a fine, or imposing a tax on someone by a suitable payment ofbaksheesh which would constitute a bribe, whether it was offered to the official or requested by the official.

When American mythologistJoseph Campbell travelled on hismaiden visit toIndia in 1954, he encountered pervasive begging which he called the "Baksheesh Complex".^[4]

Mark Twain, after riding through theBiblical town ofMagdala in 1867, makes note of his encounter with beggars and the termbucksheesh in his published workThe Innocents Abroad: "They hung to the horses' tails, clung to their manes and the stirrups, closed in on every side in scorn of dangerous hoofs—and out of their infidel throats, with one accord, burst an agonizing and most infernal chorus:'Howajji, bucksheesh! howajji, bucksheesh! howajji, bucksheesh! bucksheesh! bucksheesh!' I never was in a storm like that before."^[5]

Leo Deuel, a writer on archaeology, sardonically describedbaksheesh as "lavish remuneration and bribes, rudely demanded but ever so graciously accepted by the natives in return for little or no services rendered".^[6]

• Fakelaki, "little envelope"
• Facilitating payment

• FromBaksheesh to Bribery: Understanding the Global Fight Against Corruption and Graft edited by T. Markus Funk and Andrew S. Boutros, Oxford University Press,

• Charity
• Persian words and phrases
• Bribery

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