Yiddish words

Yiddish is a language based on German dialect combined with words from Hebrew and from Slavic languages. It was spoken in Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe before the Second World War. It can still be found in Europe, is spoken in Israel, and was once quite common amongst Jewish immigrants in London, where it has influenced cockney slang. It was taken by immigrants to the USA, particularly New York, which is why it has made many contributions to American English.

Yiddish is rich in words opening with consonant groups, particularly sch- as in schlep [E20th] ‘to haul or drag’; schlock [E20th], which goes back to German Schlake ‘dross’; schmatte [M20th] for inferior cloth or clothing in general from the Yiddish for ‘rag’; schmaltz [L18th], originally cooking fat but transferred to mean excessive sentimentality; schmooze [L19th] from schmuesn ‘talk, chat’; schtick [M20th] originally meaning ‘part, piece’; schtum [M20th] ‘quiet’; and schmuck [L19th] which although it is used to mean a fool is actually an extended used of shmok ‘penis, prick’, as is putz [E20th]. Other consonant groups are found in dreck [E20th], the Yiddish for ‘filth, rubbish’, and kvetch [M20th] ‘to criticize or complain’, while klutz [E20th] comes via Yiddish from German and shares a history and origin with English clot (see cloud).

While Yiddish has a genius for insults, it has also given us some positive words such as maven [E20th] for an expert or enthusiast ultimately from Hebrew mēḇīn ‘person with understanding, teacher’; mensch [E20th] ‘a man of integrity and honour’; and chutzpah [M19th] from khutspe, which can be negative or positive depending on whether it is ‘impudence’ or ‘audacity.’ While *kosher is the Hebrew word for food prepared according to Jewish law, Yiddish has given us its use as a more general term of approval.

In the world of food Yiddish has given us nosh [L19th], bagel [L19th], lox [M20th] from the German for salmon, and pastrami [L19th], which ultimately goes back to Turkish for ‘pressed meat’.

Yiddish has also given us some distinctive turns of phrase, mostly literal translations into English. Oy vey is literally ‘oh dear’, and already to express impatience translates Yiddish shoyn. To need something like a hole in the head translates the Yiddish expression tsu darfn vi a lokh in kop, while OK by me and get lost are also based on Yiddish turns of phrase.

See also mocker, slap, smack.