Yiddish

American  

[yid-ish] / ˈjɪd 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

But if she, a towering scholar of Yiddish literature, assumes the pose of a little old lady, don’t be fooled.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

His website provides a treasure trove of compelling radio and television programs, his copious Thomashefsky Yiddish theater archive, a vast legacy of searching and believing.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026

As a child in New Orleans, Mr. Lemann never attended a bar mitzvah or bris; he heard neither Yiddish nor Hebrew.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

Luboml, formerly in Poland and now part of Ukraine, was one such a shtetl, to use the Yiddish word for town.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

I made so many mistakes that I was forced to melt down the error-filled slugs and retype them with excruciating slowness, digging my teeth into my inner cheek until the letters became Yiddish once more.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros