shiksa

A Yiddish word for a non-Jewish woman, built on Hebrew šeqeṣ 'abomination', which explains why the word still stings. Thieves' cant carried it into German, and Dutch and Polish took it too.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Yiddish to Rotwelsch, German

From Yiddish to Dutch, Dutch

From Yiddish to Polish

500 BCEBiblical Hebrew

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

Jewish life