Word origins

• yarmulkeA skullcap worn by religious Jewish males (especially during prayer).
• YIVOInstitute for Jewish Research
• GingoldA surname from Yiddish.
• halvaA confection usually made from crushed sesame seeds and honey. It is a traditional dessert in South Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.
• potchTo thrust.
• rebbetzinThe wife of a rabbi.
• AltschulerA surname from Yiddish.
• bisselA small amount; a bit.
• GewirtzA surname from Yiddish.
• schlepTo carry, drag, or lug.
• FreilichA surname from Yiddish.
• macherAn important person, often in the negative sense of self-important; a bigwig.
• kasherto remove excess blood from by washing and salting
• BronfenbrennerA surname from Yiddish or German.
• yahrzeitThe anniversary of a person's death, usually a parent's, often marked by the lighting of a memorial candle and other rituals.
• bankescupping
• magillaSomething large or elaborate.
• bubbeA grandmother.
• knishAn Eastern European Jewish, or Yiddish, snack food consisting of a dumpling covered with a shell of baked or fried dough
• neitzA surname from German.
• bialyA flat bread roll topped with onion flakes. Instead of a hole like a bagel, it has a depression in the middle.
• funtAn old Russian unit of weight, approximately 410 grams.
• vitzjoke
• babkaA Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins; or with some single flavoring, such as chocolate or lemon.
• latkeA pancake fried in oil, usually made from potatoes and sometimes also onions, traditionally served on Hanukkah.
• plotzTo flop down wearily.
• LeibelA surname from Yiddish.
• zaftigHaving a plump and sexually attractive figure; voluptuous, well-proportioned; large.
• ZilbersteinA surname from Yiddish
• cobberA pal, buddy, mate, friend; often used in direct address by one male to another.
• fingermanA surname from Yiddish.
• shailaA question, especially a religious or legal one posed to a rabbi regarding Jewish law (halacha).
• aufrufAn aliyah (Torah reading) made by the bridegroom, typically on the Shabbat before the wedding; a gathering at which this occurs.
• kibitzTo make small talk or idle chatter.
• dybbukA malicious possessing spirit, believed to be the dislocated soul of a dead person.
• pshhSynonym of pshaw.
• SatmarA member of the Satmar movement.
• afikomenThe matzoh eaten at a Passover seder, after dinner.
• alter kakerAn old fart or old fogey.
• baal koreiThe person who reads from the Torah scroll during religious services.
• balebosMaster of the house, head of the household, host.
• balebostemistress of the house
• barcheschallah
• bashertpreordained, fated
• bekisheA black frock coat worn by Hassidim.
• bentshTo recite the Birkat Hamazon.
• bentsherA booklet containing grace after meals and often other blessings and prayers related to mealtime.
• bichlalin general, generally, in any way
• blintzA thin blin (pancake), filled (often with sweet cheese) and folded, then fried and often served with sour cream, fruit, or a sweet sauce.
• boychikTerm of endearment for a young boy, or a young man.
• break a legGood luck!; Do your best!; Said to someone wishing they perform well in a theatrical production or comparable endeavor.
• brifkaa small folding envelope used for keeping diamonds or other gemstones in
• broygesAngry or resentful.
• bubbe meiseAn old wives' tale; a fairytale.
• bubeledarling, sweetie; term of endearment for an infant
• bulkie rollA soft round sandwich roll.
• BundismA secular socialist ideology and movement among Ashkenazi Jews that advocated non-separatist Jewish autonomism, the cultivation of Ashkenazi culture and worker organisation.
• bupkisAbsolutely nothing; nothing of value, significance, or substance.
• chalafA knife used by Ashkenazi Jews in shehitah, the kosher slaughter of animals.
• chaptzemHelp! Catch him/her/them!
• chassenehA wedding.
• chazzerA pig.
• chazzeraiJunk; trash; anything worthless.
• cheap like borschtVery inexpensive.
• chederAn elementary school for Jewish children, teaching basic Judaism and Hebrew.
• chelevCertain animal fats that the Torah prohibits Jews and Israelites from eating.
• chochemA wise and learned man
• cholentA meat and/or bean stew traditionally served on the Sabbath by Jews.
• chopped liverA Jewish pâté-like food, usually spread on bread, made by mincing beef or chicken liver and onions which have been broiled or fried in schmaltz (“chicken fat”) together with hard-boiled eggs.
• chrainA relish in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, consisting of grated horseradish, vinegar, sugar, salt, and optionally beetroot.
• chremselA fried dumpling made of matzo meal and filled with fruit, typically prunes, and eaten on Passover.
• chutzpadikShowing chutzpah; not showing due respect; impudent; impertinent; brazen.
• doikeytThe focus on strengthening Jewish communities wherever they live (instead of focusing on founding a separate Jewish nation-state), usually associated with Bundism.
• enough alreadyStop; that is enough (of some negative behavior such as arguing).
• EpshteynA surname from Yiddish.
• farblondjetLost.
• farbrengenA gathering of Hassidic Jews for the purpose of inspiring each other in religion and spirituality.
• farfelSmall pellet-shaped egg pasta in Ashkenazic Jewish cuisine, made instead out of matzah during Passover.
• faynshmekerA fussy or picky person; a connoisseur.
• FeivelA male given name from Yiddish; commoner variant of Fievel.
• feygeleA little bird.
• finifA five-dollar bill (note).
• finnufA five-pound (£5) note; the sum of five pounds.
• fisnogaSynonym of p'tcha (“calves'-foot jelly”).
• flankenA certain cut of beef used in Ashkenazic Jewish cuisine, made by cutting short ribs across the bone
• fleischigMeaty, containing meat.
• fresserA glutton.
• freygishIn Ashkenazi music, the Phrygian dominant scale.
• frummerA Jew who is frum (pious and observant of Jewish laws and customs).
• fumfSynonym of fumfer (“to speak awkwardly or evasively; to fiddle or fumble”).
• fusgeyera Romanian Jew who emigrated from Romania to the United States in the early 20th century; so called because they travelled across Romania on foot before oftentimes being provided with train and ship tickets by charitable Jewish organizations once they reached the Austro-Hungarian border.
• GalitzianerA Jew of Galician ancestry.
• gartelA belt or sash used in prayer.
• gazumpTo swindle; to extort.
• gefilte fishOriginally, a dish of stuffed fish with the skin intact.
• gemishA mixture of various things, a melange.
• gesheftA business deal.
• geshmakdelicious, yummy!
• go figureExpresses perplexity, puzzlement, or surprise (as if telling somebody to try to make sense of the situation).
• gornishtNothing; zilch.