Yiddish

American  

[yid-ish] / ˈyɪd ɪʃ /

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.

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adjective

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

Yiddish British  

/ 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

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adjective

1. in or relating to this language

Etymology

Origin of Yiddish

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

Example Sentences

His grandparents, Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, were founding members of the Yiddish Theater in America.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

He recorded a collection of Yiddish songs, “Brighton Beach Memories,” in 2003, and a children’s album, “Waking Up Is Hard to Do,” in 2009.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

“I Have Sinned” was the first Yiddish sound film made in Poland.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026

It helped that they spoke Polish at home, not Yiddish.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026

The second time I looked at the letters, they began to look a little more like Yiddish, and by the third glance, they resolved into an alphabet I could understand.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros