Word origins

• goyishkeitNon-Jewish culture, customs, lifestyle, and values.
• graggerA type of ratchet (an idiophone musical instrument) used mainly in Purim celebrations in Jewish tradition; it consists of a board and a gearwheel attached to a handle, and is played by swinging the mechanism to make the gearwheel scrape against the board, producing a percussive sound.
• gribenesA snack food in Eastern European Jewish cuisine, combining cracklings of chicken or goose skin with fried onions.
• gunselSynonym of catamite: a young man kept by an elder as a (usually passive) homosexual partner.
• gunzelA railway or tram enthusiast; particularly (formerly derogatory) one who is overly enthusiastic or foolish.
• gvirA wealthy person.
• haimishhomey, folksy
• hakafahA circular religious procession, traditionally practiced on Simchat Torah.
• halevayif only, I wish, I hope
• hamantaschenTraditional Ashkenazi three-cornered cookies eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim. The filling may be made from variously from poppy seeds, prunes, nuts, dates, apricots, fruit preserves, chocolate, caramel, or cheese.
• haymishefamiliar; everyday; homely.
• hecherlouder
• hold byTo subscribe to (an idea , rule, authority, etc.); to personally consider valid or authoritative.
• hole in the headA gunshot wound to the head.
• holishkesCabbage rolls, prepared from blanched cabbage leaves wrapped in a parcel-like manner around minced meat and then simmered in tomato sauce.
• hondelTo bargain; to haggle.
• hoo-haA fuss, an uproar, a commotion or stir; hype; brouhaha, hullabaloo.
• ingberlachAn Ashkenazi Jewish confection made with honey and ginger.
• Jewish herenessSynonym of doikeyt.
• kasha varnishkesA dish of lokshen and kasha.
• khavershaftcamaraderie or solidarity
• khazerA pig; a greedy person.
• khvatA boy or lad; a rascal.
• kichela sweet cracker or cookie in Jewish cuisine
• Kiryas JoelA village in Orange County, New York, United States, coterminous with the town of Palm Tree.
• kishkeA dish made from stuffed intestine.
• kloyza small private synagogue or circle of religious learning
• knaidelA type of dumpling made of matzo eaten by Ashkenazi Jews during Passover.
• krekhtsA jolting upward slide on violin made by pressing a finger down on the string at the end of a note.
• kreplachSmall dumplings of Eastern European origin, filled with meat or cheese and served usually in soup.
• kvellTo feel delighted and proud; to boast; to gloat.
• kvetcherA person who kvetches; a complainer, kvetch.
• kvitlA note with a (general or specific) petitionary prayer, used in Hasidic Judaism.
• landsleitPeople from the same town, in American Jewish communities.
• landsmanshaftA mutual aid society or benefit society of Jewish immigrants from the same European town or region.
• lantzmanA fellow Jew who grew up in the same Eastern European shtetl as the speaker.
• lapserdakA traditional Jewish black kaftan.
• lehavdilexcuse the comparison
• lekachA Jewish honey-sweetened cake, mainly associated with Rosh Hashanah.
• leynto read from a Torah scroll
• like a hole in one's headAbsolutely not; used to describe how little one needs an undesirable thing or situation.
• LitvishThe dialect of Yiddish spoken in Lithuania, Belarus, southern Latvia, northern and eastern Ukraine, and western Russia.
• lo aleinumay it not happen to us; an expression that indicates a desire that a previously mentioned negative thing not happen again or effect anyone else
• lokshenFlat egg noodles from Yiddish cuisine.
• LudmirYiddish form of Volodymyr (A city in Ukraine).
• luftgeschaeftA meaningless or unproductive job, which contributes little or no value to society.
• luftmenschA person who is highly intellectual or contemplative but detached from practical affairs, especially the need to earn a living.
• LuntschitzŁęczyca, Poland.
• lupperA finger.
• mamashreally, very, truly
• mameloshenThe Yiddish language.
• mandlachJewish food consisting of crisp mini croutons used as a soup accompaniment.
• mashkealcoholic drink, booze.
• mashugananonsense; silliness; craziness; garbage
• mazaldiklucky, fortunate
• mazel tovUsed to express congratulations or good wishes, especially at weddings.
• mazumaCash, money.
• mechaiehA pleasure; a joy.
• meshuganonA hypothetical particle that could explain cold fusion.
• meshuggecrazy, mad, senseless, insane
• meshuggenercrazy, insane
• mieskeitAn ugly person.
• milchigDairy, containing anything derived from milk.
• mishegossMadness; silliness.
• mishpochaAn (extended) family or clan.
• misnagedAn opponent of Hasidism.
• motzaA lot of money.
• narishfoolish, silly
• narishkeitfoolishness
• nebbishOne who is fearful, indecisive and timid, especially in making decisions and plans, in discussions, debates, arguments, and confrontations, and in taking responsibility.
• noogieAn act of putting a person in a headlock and rubbing one's knuckles on the other person's head, often a playful gesture of affection when done lightly.
• nudnikA person who is very annoying; a pest, a nag, a jerk.
• nudzhA whiner; a complainer.
• one should be so luckyIt is highly doubtful: indicating that something is not likely to happen to the person specified.
• ooftishMoney.
• oofyHaving lots of money rich, wealthy.
• oy gevaltoh my God
• oy veyoh dear
• palm treeA tree of the family Arecaceae usually characterised by having a single stem or trunk, directly from which sprout several leaves or fronds giving a shape like an outstretched hand.
• pashkevilA poster put up in an Orthodox Jewish community, especially a Haredi enclave, to advise on correct behaviour.
• paskenTo rule, decide, opine.
• pesadikPermissible to eat on Passover.
• pletzelA flat bread roll, either crisp or chewy, somewhat similar to a bagel
• PonevezhYiddish form of Panevėžys (A city in Lithuania).
• possulInvalid for ceremonial or official purposes.
• potchkyto work in an amateur fashion for little gain
• PoylishA dialect of Yiddish spoken in Poland, Galicia, and Hungary.
• p'tchaCalves'-foot jelly, a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish.
• punimThe face (front part of the head).
• Purim spielA (usually comic) theatrical reenactment of the book of Esther.
• pushkeA small coin receptacle for charitable donations.
• rachmonesMercy, compassion, pity.
• rugelachA type of Jewish pastry, which may be filled with various fruit, nuts, chocolate, etc.
• sandekA person honoured at a Jewish brit milah by holding the baby boy in his lap as the mohel performs the circumcision.
• SatmarerA member of the Satmar movement.
• schavA kind of borscht made with sorrel (or occasionally lemongrass).
• schlemielA loser or a fool.
• schlimazelA chronically unlucky person.
• schlubbyClumsy, oafish, or socially awkward; unattractive or unkempt.
• schlumpSomeone who is lazy, slovenly, or dull-looking.