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kvetch

[kvech]Slang.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to complain, especially chronically.
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noun
  1. Also kvetch·er. a person who kvetches.
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Origin of kvetch

1960–65, Americanism; < Yiddish kvetshn literally, to squeeze, pinch; compare Middle High German, German quetschen
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

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British Dictionary definitions for kvetch

kvetch

verb
  1. (intr) slang, mainly US to complain or grumble, esp incessantly
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Word Origin

C20: from Yiddish kvetshn, literally: to squeeze, press
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

Word Origin and History for kvetch

v.

"to complain, whine," 1953 (implied in kvetching), from Yiddish kvetshn, literally "squeeze, press," from German quetsche "crusher, presser." As a noun, from 1936 as a term of abuse for a person.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper