Introduction

The term kibosh has long been of unknown origin. Prior to 2010 there was not much in the way of scholarly treatments of kibosh; the word was simply of unknown origin. But then a determined effort was initiated by several members of the American Dialect Society's listserv to find an answer, and special effort was directed at antedating the thus far earliest attestation (1836). Led by ads-l member Stephen Goranson, the American Dialect Society discovered several attestations from 1834 and 1835. Goranson also provided one which is undated (Penal Servitude!), but as he pointed out (in agreement with Ferguson 1941–1986), it is best judged to be from 1830–1832. Sometimes antedatings by a few years are significant, and kibosh is one such case. Goranson had suggested that kibosh derives from the Middle Eastern lash known as the kurbash, and he then used the Penal Servitude! attestation of ca. 1830 to buttress that suggestion.