shtetl

[ shtet-l, shtey-tl ]

/ ˈʃtɛt l, ˈʃteɪ tl /

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noun, plural shtet·lach

[shtet-lahkh, -luhkh, shteyt-], /ˈʃtɛt lɑx, -ləx, ˈʃteɪt-/, English shtetls.Yiddish.

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

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Words nearby shtetl

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use shtetl in a sentence

He was the manager where I was working, an old-fashioned Jew from the Polish shtetl.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview|Alex Belth|February 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

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