Word Net

posh adj : elegant and fashionable; "classy clothes"; "a classy dame"; "a posh restaurant"; "a swish pastry shop on the Rue du Bac"- Julia Child [syn: classy, swish]

Moby Thesaurus

Babylonian, Corinthian, a la mode, awe-inspiring, awful, barbaric, braw, chic, classy, clothes-conscious, cosmopolitan, dapper, dashing, deluxe, dressed to advantage, dressed to kill, elaborate, elegant, exclusive, exquisite, extravagant, fancy, fashionable, fine, genteel, glorious, grand, grandiose, imposing, impressive, jaunty, lavish, luxurious, luxury, magnificent, majestic, modish, natty, neat, nifty, nobby, noble, opulent, palatial, plush, princely, proud, recherche, regal, rich, ritzy, royal, sharp, sleek, smart, smug, snazzy, soigne, soignee, sophisticated, spiffy, splendacious, splendid, splendiferous, spruce, stately, style-conscious, sumptuous, superb, superfancy, superfine, swank, swanky, swell, tony, trendy, tricksy, trig, trim, well-dressed, well-groomed

English

Etymology

Unknown; popularly (but falsely) believed to be an acronym for "port out, starboard home", describing the cabins given to upper-class passengers travelling with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company from Britain to India and back. The company denies this practice, despite christening its loyalty scheme the "P.O.S.H. Club" after the myth (the club has since been renamed "Portunus"). A more likely origin is the Romany word posh meaning "half-", as in posh-kooroona meaning "half a crown" - a once-substantial sum of money, and hence by association anything pricey or upper-class. Alternatively posh may have first become a general term for money, after posh-houri, half-penny. See World Wide Words article on "posh" for other theories.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɒʃ

Adjective

1. Associated with the upper classes.

   She talks with a posh accent.

2. Stylish, elegant, exclusive (expensive).

   After the performance they went out to a very posh restaurant.

Quotations

• 1919: "Well, it ain't one of the classic events. It were run over there." Docker jerked a thumb vaguely in the direction of France. "At a 'Concours Hippique,' which is posh for 'Race Meeting.' — Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, June 18, 1919

Translations