*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of cushy

Borrowed from Hindustani خوشی (xośī) / ख़ुशी (xuśī), from Classical Persian خوشی (xuši, “happiness”).

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adj

Making few demands; comfortable, easy. · Comfortable, often in a way that will suit a person's body; ergonomic.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Hindustani خوشی (xośī) / ख़ुशी (xuśī), from Classical Persian خوشی (xuši, “happiness”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "inc-hnd"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Hindustani"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fa-cls",
        "3": "خوشی",
        "tr": "xuši",
        "t": "happiness"
      },
      "expansion": "Classical Persian خوشی (xuši, “happiness”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "خوشی",
      "خوشی#Urdu"
    ],
    [
      "ख़ुशी",
      "ख़ुशी#Hindi"
    ],
    [
      "خوشی",
      "خوشی#Persian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Making few demands; comfortable, easy.",
        "Comfortable, often in a way that will suit a person's body; ergonomic."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "US"
      ],
      "recordId": "e46e5d0ec9715fa198dc488052735e2eb40fa75d54d34b256432d6b9fc047ff5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c0a1550001cd5f7ebf2c702f9bb14faf3879f73d530f2bad3870c57f4548eb61",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 268797
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cushy →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-Y3VzaHk