shtetl

[ shtet-l, shtey-tl ]

/ ˈʃtɛt l, ˈʃteɪ tl /

noun, plural shtet·lach [shtet-lahkh, -luh kh, shteyt-] /ˈʃtɛt lɑx, -ləx, ˈʃteɪt-/, English shtetls. Yiddish.

(formerly) a Jewish village or small-town community in eastern Europe.

Nearby words

shrug off, shrug one's shoulders, shrunk, shrunken, sht., shtetl, shtg., shtick, shtoom, shtup, shu

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for shtetl

shtetl

/ (ˈʃtetəl) /

noun plural shtetlach (ˈʃtetlaːx) or shtetls

(formerly) a small Jewish community in Eastern Europe

Word Origin for shtetl

Yiddish, little town

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 shtetl

shtetl

Jewish small town or village in Eastern Europe, 1949, from Yiddish, literally "little town," from diminutive of German Stadt "city, town," from Old High German stat "place," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet).