Professor Uriel Weinreich's Yiddish Dictionary
Enriches Literature, Invaluable for Scholars

Dictionaries are published fre-
quently, there are revisions and a
variety of texts. They do not lend
themselves to reviews as ordinary
books.
The case is different with "The
Modern English-Yiddish Yiddish-
English Dictionary" by Uriel Wein-
reich, published by McGraw-Hill
Book Co. together with the YIVO
Institute for Jewish Research.
World Jewry will always be in-
debted to the author and to the
sponsors of this great work for
having made it possible.
There is a tragic note in the
culmination of this historic com-
pilation. The author, who was
the professor of Yidflish lan-
guage, literature and culture on
the Atran Chair established at
Columbia University, died in
March 1967 at the age of 40.
Yet he had attained the goal of
completing this significant work
which now serves as an im-
perishable monument to his
memory.
U n 1 i lc e previous dictionaries
which were mere definitive com-
pilations of words translated from
one language into another, this
volume is a study in vocabulary,
in grammar, in phraseology for
English-speaking readers who de-
sire to acquire a mastery of Yid-
dish. In the 842 pages there are
more than 20,000 items. Spelling
rules provided for the reader as-
sist in learning the tongue. Gram-
mar regulations add to a knowl-
edge of Yiddish. A unique accum-
u l a t i o n of subentries provide
knowledge that assures perfection
in learning the language, in under-
standing its phraseology, in gain-
ing an intimacy with the popular
terms as well as the classic that
had emerged as part of the vast
literature produced by Yiddish
masters.
For more than 20 years there
was dedicated research into the
total area of Yiddish words and
their roots. This is the first Yid-
dish dictionary to appear in 40
years and the completely newest
in '75 years. It required the skill
of a linguist like Dr. Weinreich to
assure the totality of the task
and the compiler's personal 20
years' devotion to Yiddish and its
related aspects, the many addi-
tional years of YIVO research
that backed him up in his labors,
make the new work the most im-
portant reference work of its kind
for Yiddishists and thoSe thirsting
for knowledge in this field. It is
the convenient and the impressive
Combination of both the Yiddish-
English and the English-Yiddish
in one volume.
For a complete appreciation of
the merits of this work, it is
necessary to know the back-
ground of the author. The late
Prof. Weinreich, author of "Col-
lege Yiddish," editor of the
three volumes of "The Field of
Yiddis h" and co-editor of
"Word," was a former Guggen-
heim Fellow, vice-president of
the Linguistic Society of Ameri-
ca, chairman of Columbia Uni-
versity's linguistics department
and director of the Language
and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic
Jewry. He began compiling ma-
terial for the new dictionary in
1950, rewriting the manuscript
constantly, assuring for the final
text completeness, modernity,
up-to-date linguistic firmness.
The significance of the new dic-
tionary is outlined in a statement
by YIVO declaring:
"Unlike its predecessors, this
modern dictionary is designed pri-
marily for use by English-speaking
persons who want to extend their
grasp of Yiddish as a second lan-
guage. It embraces both colloquial
and literary forms, giving the user
a thorough knowledge both of cur-
rent idiomatic speech and of the

40—Friday, August 30, 1968

language employed in Yiddish lit-
erature, journalism, and scholar-
ship. It offers the key to the en-
joyment of such masters as Sho-
loin Aleichem and I. Bashevis
Singer. For young people who
have grown up in the contempor-
ary American environment, the
dictionary provides a unique gate-
way to the cultural riches of the
Jewish tradition as embodied in
Yiddish language, literature, and
customs. For the older generation
it provides an easy way to cope
with language changes brought
about by the technical, social, and
economic advances of the 20th
Century. For scholars the dic-
tionary is truly invaluable, for
it enables even the person with
a limited knowledge of Yiddish to
go directly to primary sources.
"Dr. Uriel Weinreich, one of
the world's foremost linguists, de-
voted almost two decades of re-
search and editing to this publish-
ing landmark. Firmly based on
the achievements of Yiddish and
general linguistics of the past 50
years, Dr. Weinreich's dictionary
offers important lexicographic in-
novations. All Yiddish words of
Hebrew or Aramaic origin are
given in easy - to - read English
transcription. The gender of all
nouns is clearly indicated, as is
the plural- of each noun and the
past of each verb. Prefixes, suf-
fixes, diminutives, comparatives
are pointed out, and words of
doubtful admissibility in standard
Yiddish are marked accordingly.
Variants in usage related to re-
gion or style levels are reported.
Of special interest and importance
is the introductory section which
covers the fundamentals of Yid-
dish grammar, making the book
useful to readers with a wide
range of proficiency in the lan-
guage.

"Hundreds of new words which
describe details, conveniences, and
problems of modern living, includ-
ing many technical terms, are
listed with their Yiddish equiva-
lents. Founder and first director
of Columbia University's Language
and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic
Jewry, the author was able to
gather from this rich source num-
erous items in addition to those
gleaned from literature and from
living speech. The currency and
comprehensiveness of the volume,
in addition to satisfying the re-
quirements of readers with a con-
siderable. range of knowledge and
interests, also encourages the ris-
ing study of Yiddish by linguists
within the general framework of
structures and history of lan-
guages.
"For many years now, the need
for an authoritative Yiddish-Eng-
lish dictionary has been clearly
recognized by students of Jewish
languages and civilization. The
most recent attempt at this type
of reference work appeared in 1925
and again in a somewhat revised
edition in 1928. It adequately re-
flected the Yiddish vocabulary at
the end of World War I. But since
then almost a half-century has
elapsed. Yiddish literature, jour-
nalism, and education have im-
measurably altered and enriched
the language of that era.
"YIVO's historic new dictionary
reflects this growth and develop-
ment, giving many hundreds of
new Yiddish words, phrases, and
idioms as well as precise equiva-
lents of hundreds of contemporary
English terms. It presents the
vital language as it is employed
now by cultivated speakers, em-
phasizing current shades of mean-
ing and the most up-to-date us-
ages."
Appreciation of this laborious
work is possible only by making
a study of many of its terms. For
instance, when defining accent it
not only suggests the English

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

PROF. URIEL WEINREICH

equivalent of aktzent but also the
trohp that stems from the Jewish
musical cantillations.
While translating haphazardly
as oif traaf, it also offers an ohn a
tolk interpretation.
Prudish is eebertzniesdik and a
prudish perosn is dos shomayim-
penimel.
It is clear that Dr. Weinreich
had to master Hebrew as well as
Yiddish to be able to compose
such a gigantic work.
Another example: rescind is
oprufen, and also botel machen.
Swashbuckler is der flockenshisser
or shtroyener kozack. Sway is
translated deye, Vigen zich, vak-
even zich, eynbeten.
Similarly, translating from the
Yiddish into English, kalemutne
is gloomy or dejected; kolir is
both color and complexion;
stashkeshmir is peanut butter;
strushke is a wood shaving or a
chip; koved-zukher is a vain per-
son; koved-oisdruk is a testi-
monial.
Bdike is defined as inspection
and to make it thoroughly under-
standable there. is the Jewish tra-
ditional explanation of the terms
of inspection "of a slaughtered
animal for possible impurities."
In the same approach to an ex-
planation of a Hebrew term that
has become common Jewish usage,
bdikas-khometz is explained as
"the ceremonial search for leav-
ened bread, carried out the day
before Passover, in which the
home is cleaned of all traces of
leaven."
Thus, also, b'deye-akhes is de-
fined as "seeing eye to eye."
The author's preface contains
an interesting message. The late
Dr. Weinreich wrote:
"The growth of standardized
Yiddish has been stimulated
since the middle of the 19th cen-
tury by the precipitous develop.
ment of belles lettres and the
employment of the language as
a medium of the press, of poli-
tical movements, of educational
systems up to the college level,
of scholarly research and occa-
sionally of political administra-
tion. This rapid growth has
taken place simultaneously in
many countries, sometimes with
only limited planning and coor-
dination. The dictionary may
also have significance for ac-
complished speakers and writers
of Yiddish as a checklist of mod-
ern terminology in which inno-
vation has been relatively de-
centralized . . ."
Referring his readers, to a num-
ber of reference works, Dr. Wein-
reich included the "Groysser Ver-
terbukh" by Judah H. Joffe and
Yudel Mark.
In a supplementary preface,
YIVO Institute for Jewish Re-
search calls attention to the fact
that they believed this work was
ready for the printer in 1964, but
Dr. Weinreich thought otherwise
and he reworked the manuscript
from beginning to end in 1965-66,

the dictionary having been his
major preoccupation until his
death.
The YIVO preface points out
that "the designation of the dic-
tionary as Modern was suggested
by the editors of McGraw-Hill and
was approved by the author.
Because of the magnificence
of the printing job—the com-
position having been done by
Maurice Jacobs, Inc., of Phila-
delphia—it is important to note
the following in Dr. Weinreich's
preface: "Dr. Maurice Jacobs
was always ready to meet the
rigorous demands involved in
the intricate work of typography,
which required two alphabetical
systems in opposite directions.
With great ingenuity and tire-
less effort, Mr. Philip Herstein,
compositor of the book for the
Maurice Jacobs Press, was res-
ponsible for giving the diction-
ary the quality of its appear-
ance"
For scholars, there is great
value in the "Guidelines for the
Use of the Dictionary" which pre-
cedes the entire work and explains
the arrangements for both the Eng-
lish - Yiddish and Yiddish.- English
portions of the book.
These guidelines are especially
valuable for the explanations of
the use of subtitles, resort to ab-
breviations, inclusion of synonyms,
etc.
Some scholars have found a
few errors in the text. The con-
ditions under which the great
work was produced cause re-
viewers to marvel that there
weren't more discrepancies. In
its totality this is an almost
faultless work.
Great scholarship has gone into
this compilation. For lovers of
Yiddish this will be a great treas-
ure. For - linguists generally this
will prove a magnificent guide to
language-learning and the perfec-
tion of an acquisition of Yiddish.
Dr. Weinreich's name is written
indelibly in literary history with
this work and both YIVO and Mc-
Graw-Hill have earned gratitude
for producing it.

Proper names, places, events,
are traced for their background.
"Job", for example, is explained
as "type of patiencl (Job, i. 22),
or poverty (lb. 1.21).
To _be noted is the item about
the opporoborium against Jews,
defined as follows: "Sheeny
(slang). Jew. East End slang
(early 19 century). From Yiddish
pronunciation of German schof
beautiful, used in praising wai
(A guess.) ?Cf. smouch."
And the slang term "smouch"
is explained as: "Jew. Earlier
smouse . . . 'a German Jew' iden-
tified with German-Jewish schmus,
patter, profit, Hebrew sh'mu'oth
tales, news ."
Among the derivations of com-
monly used terms in Weekly's* ety-
mological dictionary are the fol-
lowing:
The "Teddy-bear" was name
for President Theodore (Teddy,
Roosevelt.
We usually think of "ketchup
as being as American as appli__
pie, but the word itself is de-
rived from the Chinese "ke-
tsiap," meaning the btine of
pickled fish.
Poisonous "iodine" is named
for one of nature's sweetest flow-
ers, the violet (because of the
color of its vapor).
"Snob" was once a nickname
for a shoemaker; its current us-
age comes from Thackeray's
"Book of Snobs."
The word "sardonic" is de-
rived from a poisonous plant,
"herba Sardonia," death from
which was preceded by convol-
sive grinning.
"Apple" once meant all kinds
of fruits other than berries, in-
cluding nuts and foreign fruits,
e.g. "pine apple," a name given
fruit of pine-cone shape by 16th-
century travelers.
"Namby - pamby" originated
with Alexander Pope as a caus-
tich nickname
nicsk.
for one Ambrose
Philips.
These indicate the vast extent
of this unusual work by a man
who made a- definite contribution
* * *
to the study of words. A tribute
Ernest Weekley (1865-1954)
Classic Etymological to
appears in the first volume of the
two paperbacks by the author's
Dictionary Re-Issued
son, Montague Weekley of Canon-
Dover Publications have issued bury, England.
* *
a two-volume dictionary that is
replete with fascinating items. Em-
Kogos'
Dictionary
phasizing the origin of common
words, "An Etymological Diction- Emphasizes Slang
ary of Modern English" by Ernest
In view of the enrichment. of
Weekley, an unabridged reprint,
in two paperback volumes of the literature by the publication of
famous work, - revive interest in Uriel Weinreich's Yiddish-English
the origin of words and phrases. Dictionary, the publication . of "A
These dictionaries, like the im- Dictionary of Yiddish Slang and
mense Yiddish-English dictionary, Idioms" by Fred Kogos (issued
serve not only to provide defini- by Kogos Publications and Citadel
tions of words and their - origins Press) is rather disturbing.
It contains many common
but also emerge as interesting
works to be read and browsed used words, an unusual numb
through for their unusual and of popular phrases, but it emplia=
sizes the filth, it seeks the sug-
informative background data.
gestive and utilizes entirely too
There is an immense amount many such terms, like "vemen
of material of special interest to
barestu?" and scores of others that
Jewish readers.
are rather crude.
There will no doubt arise cri-
The author considers himself "an
ticisms. in relation to the use of obsessive Yiddishophile, intent on
terms like "Jew" in reference to preserving Yiddish." There is no
"extortion" and the explanation doubt that Frederick Kogos pos-
is that it is presented because of seses skill, has mastered the
earlier, or even present common common words used in Yiddish,
usage, prejudicial as it is.
knows how to translate them in
Thus the term "Jew" is defined this "Dictionary of Yiddish Slam"
as "jueu, gin (juif). Latin judae- and Idioms" which contains be
us, from Hebrew y'hudah, Judah, an English-Yiddish and a Yid s!.
literally celebrated. Worth a Jew's English section. But in the
eye alludes to medieval extortion the selections he made and tit,:
practiced on Jews while verb to translations are -not the classic:
Jew suggests extortion the other they are the ordinary, market-
way round . . . Jew's ear, fungus, place terms and the meanings ap-
is a mistaken rendering of Medi- plied to them. If that's what is
eval Latin auricula Judae, Judas' sought, as a sort of stage Yiddish,
ear, so called because commonly then his book serves a fine pur-
found on the elder (Judas tree), pose. But those who desire knowl-
the tree on which Judas Iscariot edge of the classic Yiddish now
traditionally hanged himself. Jew's have the superb Weinreich work
harp was earlier Jew's trump, which can not be duplicated and
the reason for the name being un- must be advocated for popular
known."
and widest usage.

.