In his bestselling classic, “The Joys of Yiddish”, Leo Rosten remarks: “Yiddish is the Robin Hood of languages. It steals from the linguistically rich to give to the fledgling poor. … A memorable remark by a journalist, Charles Rappaport, runs: ‘I speak ten languages – all of them in Yiddish.'” (Pocket Books edition, 1970, p. xvi). The history of Yiddish can be traced back to the 10th century, when the Jewish communities in Rhineland started to write the local German dialects phonetically, using the Hebrew alphabet. Hebrew remained the sacred tongue, the holy language; Yiddish became the mother’s language.
Yiddish, therefore, is a Germanic language. It derives from the German vernacular of the Rhineland, enriched with words from Hebrew and lexical loans from the Slavic languages. English has adopted many Yiddish words and, maybe even more importantly, Yiddish stylistic devices that express exquisite shades of meaning with passion, vitality, and zest.
The following list is a sampler of commonly used Yiddish words and phrases in modern English.
bagel (Yiddish beygl, ultimately from a Germanic root for “bend”): a donut-shaped bread roll.
borscht/borsht (akin to Russian borshch): beet soup, often served with sour cream.
bubkes/bopkes (derived from the Slavic root for “bean”; literally: beans): something trivial; nothing; (as an exclamation) “nonsense!”
chutzpah/chutzpa/chutspa (from late Hebrew huspah): self-confidence, audacity, and arrogance (3-in-1); gall; “guts”.
goy (plural: goyim; from Hebrew goy = people, nation): anyone who is not Jewish; a Gentile.
kibitzer (from the German verb kiebitzen = to be an onlooker, esp. at a card game): an outsider who looks over other people’s shoulders and offers gratuitous advice.
kvetch (from the German verb quetschen = to press, to squeeze, to crush): to complain persistently.
l’chaim (the literal meaning in Hebrew is “To life!”; alternative spellings include lehaim, lechaim, lechayim, l’chayim): a drinking toast: “To your good health!”; a drink used in toasting someone.
mazel tov (from ancient Hebrew mazzaloth = constellations): an expression of good wishes and congratulations on a festive occasion, such as the birth of a child, a wedding, a graduation, etc.
mensch/mensh/mench (from German Mensch = person): a person of honor and integrity, of rectitude and dignity.
meshugge/meshuga/meshug(g)ah (from Hebrew meshugga): something absurd, crazy, or wildly extravagant.
nebach/neb(b)ech/nebbich/neb(b)ish (related to Polish nieboze = poor thing): a hapless, weak, and helpless individual, a “nobody”; sometimes used as an exclamation, as in the poor thing!
nudnik/nudnick (from Russian nudny = boring): a tiresome person, a pest; a nag and a bore.
oy (as in oy vey! and oy gevalt!): a protean exclamation in Yiddish, used to express a vast gamut of negative feelings, ranging from surprise, incredulity, and shock to dismay, anxiety, and pain. In oy vey, vey is believed to derive from the German Weh (= pain; cf. English woe). In oy gevalt, gevalt is cognate with the German Gewalt (= force, violence).
shiksa/shikseh (the feminine of Yiddish shaygets (gentile boy), from Hebrew sheques = blemish, defect): a non-Jewish woman, especially a young one.
shlep/schlep (Yiddish shlepn, from German schleppen = to drag): to carry something very heavy, usually over a long distance.
shlock/schlock/schlack (from the Yiddish verb shlogn (to hit), derived from the German schlagen = to hit; cf. the English verb slay): originally, shlock meant damaged merchandise; now it means “junk”, i.e. cheap and trashy merchandise. (Hence shlockmeister = somebody who sells cheap, shoddy goods.)
shtick/shtik/schtick (from German Stueck = piece, play): an entertainer’s routine or somebody’s particular talent; gimmick; bag of tricks.
yenta/yente (from the Yiddish name Yente): a meddlesome gossip, a blabbermouth.
Sources:
Merriam-Webster Online: http://www.m-w.com
“The Joys of Yiddish” by Leo Rosten (Pocket Books, New York, 1970)
Reference:
- Merriam-Webster Online: www.m-w.com
