non-kosher

The word is a modern English compound formed by directly attaching the productive Latin-derived negative prefix "non-" to the loanword "kosher." "Kosher" entered English from Yiddish (kosher), which itself derives from Hebrew (kāshēr), originally meaning "fit" or "proper" in a general sense before specializing in Jewish law. The compound "non-kosher" literally means "not ritually fit," with its primary meaning strictly tied to Jewish dietary regulations. Through semantic extension, the term acquired a broader informal sense of "not legitimate or acceptable," leveraging the cultural understanding of "kosher" as a metaphor for authenticity.

Structure: non (not) + kosher (ritually fit) - non: A prefix of Latin origin, meaning "not" or "the reverse of." It functions as a negative particle. - kosher: An adjective of Hebrew origin (כָּשֵׁר, kāshēr), meaning "fit," "proper," or "lawful." In this compound, it functions as the core lexical root.