definitions
  • synonyms

kvell

[ kvel ]
/ kvɛl /
|

verb (used without object) Slang.

to be extraordinarily pleased; especially, to be bursting with pride, as over one's family.

Nearby words

kva, kvaløy, kvass, kveim antigen, kveim test, kvell, kvetch, kvetchy, kw, kwa, kwacha

Origin of kvell

1965–70, Americanism; < Yiddish kveln be delighted; compare Middle High German, German quellen well up, gush
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for kvelling

  • You wanted to eat the thing she was kvelling about, right then and there, even before the next sentence.

    Remembering Nora Ephron as Our Dorothy Parker, but More|Stephen Schiff|June 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for kvelling

kvell

/ (kvɛl) /

verb

(intr) informal, mainly US to be happy or show satisfaction

Word Origin for kvell

C20: from Yiddish kveln to well up
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012