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List of English words of Yiddish origin

List of English words of Yiddish origin is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of English words of Yiddish origin rather than just read about it. In short: This is a list of words that have entered the English language from the Yiddish language, many of them by way of American English. There are differing approaches to the romanization of Yiddish orthography (which uses the Hebrew alphabet); thus, the spelling of some of the words in this list may be variable (for example, shlep is a variant of schlep, and shnozz, schnoz).

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Reference excerpt

This is a list of words that have entered the English language from the Yiddish language, many of them by way of American English. There are differing approaches to the romanization of Yiddish orthography (which uses the Hebrew alphabet); thus, the spelling of some of the words in this list may be variable (for example, shlep is a variant of schlep, and shnozz, schnoz).

Background Yiddish is a Germanic language, originally spoken by Jews in Central and later Eastern Europe, written in the Hebrew alphabet, and containing a substantial substratum of Hebrew words as well as numerous loans from Slavic languages. For that reason, some of the words listed originated in Hebrew or Slavic languages, but have entered English via Yiddish. Yiddish is closely related to modern German, and many Yiddish words have German cognates; in some cases it is difficult to tell whether a particular word was borrowed from Yiddish or from German. Yiddish is written in the Hebrew alphabet, and Yiddish words may be transliterated into Latin spelling in a variety of ways; the transliterated spelling of Yiddish words and the conventional spelling of German are usually different, but the pronunciations are frequently the same (e.g., שוואַרץ, shvarts in Yiddish is pronounced the same way as schwarz in German).

List of words These English words of Yiddish origin, except as noted, are in the online editions of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (AHD), or the Merriam-Webster dictionary (MW). The parentheses-enclosed information at the end of each word's entry starts with the original Yiddish term in Hebrew script, the Latin script transliteration, and the literal English translation (if different from the English definition given earlier). This may be followed by additional relevant languages (mostly Hebrew and German). One or more dictionary references appear at the end.

A Alter kacker or alte kacker (Yid. אַלטער קאַקער): literally "old crapper". Sometimes abbreviated as AK or A.K.; equivalent to English "old fart".

B Bagel: A ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling or steaming, and then baking, the dough (from Yiddish: בײגל, romanized: beygl, from Old High German boug with diminutive -el suffix). Balabusta, balabosta, balebosta (Yid. בעל־הביתטע): a Jewish mistress of the house; usually applied with positive connotations. Blintz: A sweet cheese-filled crepe (בלינצע, blintse, from Belarusian: блінцы, romanized: blincy, lit. 'pancakes' (plural)). Bris: The circumcision of a male child. (ברית, bris, from Hebrew: ברית, romanized: brith, lit. 'covenant'). Broigus (Yid. ברוגז broygez): (n) a bitter feud of anger; (adj.) angry, irritated; from Hebrew ברוגז (berogez, "angry"). Boychik: Boy, young man. (English boy + Eastern Yiddish: טשיק, -chik, diminutive suffix (from Slavic). Bubbeh, bubbe (Yid. באָבע): grandmother; elderly woman. Bubbeleh (Yid. באָבעלע): a term of endearment; esp. for a young child or elderly relative. Bupkis (also Bupkes, Bupkus, Bubkis, Bubkes): Emphatically nothing, as in 'He isn't worth bupkis' (באָבקעס, bobkes; of uncertain origin; perhaps originally meaning '[goat] droppings', from a word meaning 'beans', of Slavic origin)

C Cholent, cholnt, tcholent, etc. (Yid. טשאָלנט tsholnt): traditional slow-simmering Sabbath stew prepared overnight. Chutzpah : Nerve, gall, guts, balls, daring, self-confidence, audacity, effrontery (חצפּה, khutspe, from Hebrew).

D Daven: To recite Jewish liturgical prayers (דאַוונען, davnen). Dreck, drek: Worthless, distasteful, or nonsensical material (דרעק, drek, from Middle High German: drec, lit. 'rubbish'; cognate with German: Dreck, 'dirt, filth'). Dybbuk: The malevolent spirit of a dead person that enters and controls a living body until exorcised (דבּוק, dibbuk, 'a latching-onto'). Dreidel: Yiddish: דרײדל, romanized: dreydl, a four-sided spinning top.

F Fleishig: Made with meat or poultry (פֿליישיק, fleyshik, 'meaty', from fleysh, 'meat'; cf. German: fleischig, 'meaty'). It is usually used to denote a class of kosher products. Frum (Yid. פֿרום): adjective; religious, observant of Judaism laws (cf. German "Fromm" = pious).

Ganef or Gonif: A thief, scoundrel, rascal (גנבֿ, ganev/ganef, 'thief', from Hebrew: גנב, gannav). Gelt : Money in general; also the chocolate coins given to children on Hanukkah (געלט, gelt, 'money'; cognate with German: Geld, 'money'; related to 'gold'). Glitch: A minor malfunction (גליטש, glitsh, from גליטשן, glitshn, 'slide'; cf. German: glitschen, 'slither'). Golem: A man-made humanoid; an android, Frankenstein monster (גלם, goylem, from Hebrew: גלם, gōlem). Goy: A gentile, term for someone not of the Jewish faith or people (גוי; plural גויים or גוים, goyim; from Hebrew: גויים or גוים, goyim, 'nations', plural of גוי, goy, 'nation').

H Haimish (also Heimish) : Home-like, friendly, folksy (היימיש, heymish; cf. German: heimisch).

Kasha: buckwheat porridge or grains (prefabricated for a porridge). Originally a Slavic term, it probably entered into English usage with Jewish emigrants, especially the plural form Yiddish: קאַשי, romanized: kashi. Kibitz : To offer unwanted advice, e.g. to someone playing cards; to converse idly, hence a kibitzer, gossip (קיבעצן, kibetsn; cf. German: kiebitzen, may be related to German: Kiebitz, 'lapwing'). Kishke (Yid. קישקע, the word is borrowed from Slavic): A kind of sausage stuffed with finely chopped potatoes, carrots, onions, spices, etc., rather than meat; in the plural kishkes informally means 'abdomen'. Klezmer, instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. Klutz: A clumsy person (קלאָץ, klots, 'wooden beam'; cf. German: Klotz, 'block'). Knish : A doughy snack stuffed with potato, meat, or cheese (קניש), from Polish: knysz. Kosher: Correct according to Jewish law, normally used in reference to Jewish dietary laws; (slang) appropriate, legitimate (originally from כּשר, kašer/kasher). kugel (Yid. קוגעל): a casserole or pudding, usually made from egg noodles or potatoes. Kvell: To express great pleasure combined with pride (קװעלן, kveln, from an old Germanic word; cognate with German: quellen, 'swell'). Kvetch : to complain habitually, gripe; as a noun, a person who always complains (קװעטשן, kvetshn, 'press/squeeze'; cognate with German: quetschen, 'squeeze').

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of English words of Yiddish origin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of English words of Yiddish origin claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of English words of Yiddish origin before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of English words of Yiddish origin ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of English words of Yiddish origin

In research: List of English words of Yiddish origin appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of English words of Yiddish origin in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of English words of Yiddish origin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Judeo-English languages, Lists of English words of foreign origin, Lists of loanwords of Germanic origin, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of English words of Yiddish origin outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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