gefilte fish

/ɡəˈfɪltə fɪʃ/

noun

Originally, a dish of stuffed fish with the skin intact.

Similar
fish ball
OriginYiddish געפֿילטע פֿיש ← Old High German [Term?] →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noungefilte fish (uncountable)

alternative gefiltefish · alternative gefüllte fish · alternative gefullte fish · alternative gefülte fish · alternative gefulte fish

  1. uncountableOriginally, a dish of stuffed fish with the skin intact.
  2. uncountableA poached mixture of ground deboned fish, traditionally served as an appetizer by Ashkenazi Jewish households.

    Today you will shop for me. Tonight we will have gefilte fish.

    2011 Jan/Feb, Sally Schloss, “The Goose Girl”, in Moment, volume 36, number 1, archived from the original on 18 Nov 2011, page 49

Synonyms & antonyms

nounwell-seasoned balls of ground fish and eggs and crushed crumbs simmered in fish stock

Similar
fish ball
Broader
dish

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old High German[Term?]
  2. Yiddishגעפֿילטע פֿיש“stuffed fish”
  3. Englishgefilte fish

From Yiddish געפֿילטע פֿיש (gefilte fish, “stuffed fish”), from געפֿילט (gefilt, “stuffed”), from Old High German [Term?]. (Compare German gefüllter (“stuffed”) + Fisch (“fish”).)

More words from Yiddish, Old High German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish karp po żydowsku
  • karp po żydowskuTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

gefilte fish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gefilte%20fish

MLA

“gefilte fish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gefilte%20fish. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gefilte fish,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gefilte%20fish.

Source: gefilte fish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.