davka

Alternative Spellings

dafka, dafke

Definitions

• even; despite expectations to the contrary -- often with a slightly amused or ironic feeling of "wouldn't you know it?" or "of all things" ("of all people" ... etc.)
• "definitely or exactly stated; specifically" (Weiser)
• just to annoy, just to be contrary

Example Sentences

• "It's davka the worst students who require the most attention."
• "They drive on Shabbat, davka." "He'd be a nice guy if he wasn't so davka." (http://www.thejc.com/judaism/jewish-words/davka)
• "You have to love the person, davka with their faults." (http://chabadtalk.com/forum/showthread.php3?p=76780)
• "Many times people get into fights davka because they care so much about the person they're dealing with." (http://chabadtalk.com/forum/showthread.php3?p=76780)

Languages of Origin

Aramaic, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew

Etymology

דווקא

Who Uses This

Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
Israel: Diaspora Jews who feel connected to Israel and have spent time there

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).