Bocher

Meaning

1. (masculine, strong) young man who has not yet reached adulthood; youngling, youngster, youth
2. (Southern-Germany, colloquial, dialectal, masculine, strong) Jewish young man who has not yet reached adulthood; Jewish youngling, Jewish youngster, Jewish youth, young Jew
3. (masculine, strong) rabbinical student
4. (colloquial, masculine, strong) student
5. (Bavarian, Palatine, dialectal, masculine, strong) poor Jewish student
6. (Southern-Germany, dialectal, masculine, strong) Jewish (male) teacher
7. (dialectal, masculine, strong) rabbi of the village
8. (colloquial, masculine, strong) experienced police officer
9. (colloquial, masculine, strong) police officer who is well versed in thieves and their “Gaunersprache” (≈ thieves' argot)
10. (Palatine, dialectal, masculine, strong) Jewish bridegroom
11. (Alsatian, dialectal, masculine, strong) clumsy, inept, simple-minded person

Concepts

student

🧑‍🎓

youngster

police officer

👮

rabbinical

skillful

thieves

jewish

experienced

thieves’ argot

officer

Translations

étudiant

🧑‍🎓

adolescent

argot

élève

juif

policier

👮

averti

rabbinique

escrocs

agent

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈbɔxɐ]

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish: בחור

In summary

The word was borrowed via Yiddish בחור (bokher) which in Western Yiddish applied the senses of “boy, youngster, man”, “Talmud student”, especially “Talmud student who gave lessons to Jewish children in exchange for board and lodge”, “teacher of religious education”, “Jewish teacher”, “assistant schoolmaster”, from Hebrew בָּחוּר (bakhúr, “young man”). Sense 2 is attested since the 18th century. Sense 4 is also attested since the 18th century and developed as an extension of the Yiddish sense “the one who is studious in the teachings of the Talmud; student of a rabbi”. Senses 8 and 9, also extensions of the aforementioned Yiddish sense, are attested since 1862 and were borrowed from Rotwelsch.