Yiddish

[ yid-ish ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a Germanic language of Ashkenazi Jews, based on Middle High German dialects with an admixture of vocabulary from Hebrew, Aramaic, the Slavic languages, and Old French and Old Italian, written in Hebrew letters, and spoken mainly in eastern and central Europe and by Jewish emigrants from these regions and their descendants.

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of Yiddish.

Yiddish

/ ˈ��ɪ��ɪʃ /

noun

a language spoken as a vernacular by Jews in Europe and elsewhere by Jewish emigrants, usually written in the Hebrew alphabet. Historically, it is a dialect of High German with an admixture of words of Hebrew, Romance, and Slavonic origin, developed in central and E Europe during the Middle Ages

adjective

in or relating to this language

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Yiddish¹

First recorded in 1885–90; from Yiddish yidish; yid, -ish ¹

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Word History and Origins

Origin of Yiddish¹

C19: from German ��ü�徱��, from Jude Jew

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But they represent the global diversity of L.A.’s half-million Jews, melding the Hebrew and English spoken at day care with the Persian or Yiddish learned at home.

From

“I’m from Boyle Heights, so I know a little Yiddish, OK?”

From

“And Yiddish. And Mandarin. All bandapats do. Only there aren’t very many of us. We are endangered. I am the only one in Brooklyn. Possibly even in North America.”

From

Feldman, whose first language is Yiddish, emigrated to Berlin a decade ago.

From

He had been taking courses in Yiddish literature at McGill University, but was finding it hard to find the books he needed.

From

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