英语词汇mazel tov的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

mazel tov. One of the better-known American Yiddish ex- pressions, mazel tov is often believed to mean “good luck to you.” However, Leo Rosten in The Joys of Yiddish (1968) says it has come to mean “Congratulations” or “Thank God!” rath- er than its literal meaning “Good Luck.” Advising that this “distinction is as important as it is subtle,” he offers an exam- ple: “Say mazel tov! to an Israeli ship captain when he first takes command: this congratulates him on his promotion; don’t say mazel tov! when the ship reaches port; this suggests you’re surprised he got you there.” Though Rosten and most others say mazel tov literally means “good luck” (from mazel, luck and tov, good), mazel is actually the Hebrew for “star,” so the expression literally means “May a good star shine upon your days.”

词汇	mazel tov
词源	mazel tov. One of the better-known American Yiddish ex- pressions, mazel tov is often believed to mean “good luck to you.” However, Leo Rosten in The Joys of Yiddish (1968) says it has come to mean “Congratulations” or “Thank God!” rath- er than its literal meaning “Good Luck.” Advising that this “distinction is as important as it is subtle,” he offers an exam- ple: “Say mazel tov! to an Israeli ship captain when he first takes command: this congratulates him on his promotion; don’t say mazel tov! when the ship reaches port; this suggests you’re surprised he got you there.” Though Rosten and most others say mazel tov literally means “good luck” (from mazel, luck and tov, good), mazel is actually the Hebrew for “star,” so the expression literally means “May a good star shine upon your days.”
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