# בון "bon" in Israeli restaurants = check, compte



## origumi

The technical term "bon" or "bonne" among restaurants in Israel means bill, check, compte, additon, etc., for the customer to pay.

Does anyone know where this word comes from? Is it borrowed from a foreign language? or short version of חשבון?

Thanks.


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## anipo

I never heard that word. When I ask for the bill at a restaurant, I ask for "החשבון" and that is what the waiter calls it when he brings it. Maybe some of the people who work there shorten it to "בון", but as I said, I never heard it.


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## origumi

This word is never used by the customer, only by restaurant workers.


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## GeriReshef

I can only guess that if such term really exists, it is probably "goods" in French, in the meaning of "merchandize".


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## origumi

GeriReshef said:


> I can only guess that if such term really exists, it is probably "goods" in French, in the meaning of "merchandize".


I'd rather hear opinions of those who know that the term exists.

Examples of how it's used:
http://www.bit-bar.co.il/archive.asp?archive_id=467
http://www.fridmanwork.com/x1078.html


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## fdb

I have been to restaurants in France where the waiter leaves a _bon_ (‘coupon’) at the till whenever he brings a plate out of the kitchen. Afterwards, the cashier adds up each waiter’s coupons and charges him for the sum. The waiter can keep the excess of what he receives from the diners (i.e., his service charge and any tips), but is held responsible for any shortfall.

You might wish to pursue this matter further in the French forum.


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## Nunty

In both of the examples you cite, origumi, the word "בון" appears inside quotation marks, indicating that it is not a standard usage. The origin of slang and jargon is always interesting. I wonder if the Academia has anything on this...


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## origumi

Nunty said:


> I wonder if the Academia has anything on this...


I don't think it's the kind of words for the Academia. Sounds like technical terminology limited to restaurants and hotels.

I found a Hebrew articles (link below) which spells it "bonne", a clue for French origin. I heard a suggestion it comes from "bond" of paper. The problem with bon, bonne, בון, is the large number of irrelevant results in search engines and therefore the difficulty to find its meaning and then how it entered the Israeli business jargon (which is the more interesting question for me).

http://www.nrg.co.il/fix/ART/514/713.html


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## berndf

origumi said:


> I found a Hebrew articles (link below) which spells it "bonne", a clue for French origin. I heard a suggestion it comes from "bond" of paper. The problem with bon, bonne, בון, is the large number of irrelevant results in search engines and therefore the difficulty to find its meaning and then how it entered the Israeli business jargon (which is the more interesting question for me).


I can only speculate. But, like fdb, I think immediately of French_ bon=voucher_. In a broader sense, it refers to any kind of ticket, including those issued by cash registers. In Germany, the procedure fdb described is customary too. It may exist in many other countries as well. In the region where I'm currently living, French speaking Switzerland, the waiter also issues a _bon_ at the cash register every time he takes an item to the guest's table and sticks into a small empty glass on the table. When the guess wants to pay, the waiter retrieves all the _bons_ from glass, adds up the amounts and that's what the guest pays and after the guest has payed, he rips them apart to invalidate them. So, the extension of the French word _bon_ to mean _restaurant check/bill_ seems quite natural.


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## origumi

Thanks all, fdb, berndf. Bon certainly looks like the probable origin. I've noticed that Danish, Dutch, Slovene also use "bon" for ticket / receipt, borrowed from French.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bon


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## berndf

origumi said:


> I've noticed that Danish, Dutch, Slovene also use "bon" for ticket / receipt, borrowed from French.


German too.


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## fdb

berndf said:


> German too.



And of course "Gutschein", which is presumably a Germanising calque on "bon".


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## berndf

fdb said:


> And of course "Gutschein", which is presumably a Germanising calque on "bon".


A "Gutschein" is specifically a voucher. Any ticket or receipt (including vouchers issued by cash registers, e.g. for returned bottles with refundable deposit) printed by a cash register or similar machine is a "Bon" (pronounced "Bong"). (Kassenbon)


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