chutzpah

An Aramaic word for insolence, used in Hebrew rabbinic texts, that Yiddish kept as khutspe and American English adopted, shifting from pure condemnation to grudging admiration. German Chuzpe, Dutch gotspe, Polish hucpa and Russian khutspa are its siblings.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Yiddish to German

From Yiddish to Dutch, Dutch

From Yiddish to Polish

From Yiddish to Russian

From Medieval Hebrew to Modern Hebrew

200 CEAramaic

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

Jewish life