cumshaw

American

[kuhm-shaw] / ˈkʌm ʃɔ /

noun

a present; gratuity; tip.

cumshaw British

/ ˈkʌmʃɔː /

noun

(used, esp formerly, by beggars in Chinese ports) a present or tip

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cumshaw

1810–20; < dialectal Chinese (Xiamen) kam siā, equivalent to Chinese gân xiè grateful thanks

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023