Yiddish

[ yid-ish ]

noun

1. 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

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Yiddish.

Yiddish

/ ˈjɪdɪʃ /

noun

1. 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

1. in or relating to this language

Word History and Origins

Origin of Yiddish¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Yiddish¹

C19: from German jüdisch, from Jude Jew

Example Sentences

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

From Los Angeles Times

“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 Literature

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

From New York Times

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

From New York Times

Other authors have used alternate history and the detective story model to explore history’s dark corners, notably China Miéville’s “The City & the City” and Michael Chabon’s “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union.”

From Los Angeles Times