According to the YIVO, the Institute of Jewish Research, the term “Yiddish” is derived from the German word for “Jewish.” The most accepted (but not the only) theory of the origin of Yiddish is that it began to take shape by the 10th century as Jews from France and Italy migrated to the German Rhine Valley.

They developed a language that included elements of Hebrew, Jewish-French, Jewish-Italian, and various German dialects. In the late Middle Ages, when Jews settled in Eastern Europe, Slavic elements were incorporated into Yiddish.

And throughout the centuries, the language has developed its own style, or should we say “steyl?!”

EXAMPLE SENTENCES FROM JEL.JEWISH-LANGUAGES.ORG 

• “Reb Chayim zatsal, in his later years, gave gevaldike shiurim every Wednesday and Thursday.”
• “There was a gevaltike response to the yeshiva’s appeal for money.” (Weiser)

LANGUAGES OF ORIGIN

• Yiddish

ETYMOLOGY

• • גװאַלדיק gvaldik ‘great, immense’ or געוואלטיג gevaltig ‘powerful’

WHO USES THIS

• • • • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

REGIONS

• • • • North America

DICTIONARIES

• • • • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).

ALTERNATIVE SPELLINGS

gevaldik, gvaldig, gvaldik, gevaldige, gevaldike, gvaldige, gvaldike, gevaltig, gevaltik, gvaltig, gvaltik, gevaltige, gevaltike, gvaltige, gvaltike