davka

Definitions

• adv. 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.)
  

• adv. "Definitely or exactly stated; specifically" (Weiser).
  

• adv. 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." (source)
  

• "You have to love the person, davka with their faults." (source)
  

• "Many times people get into fights davka because they care so much about the person they're dealing with." (source)
  

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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).
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Alternative Spellings

dafka, dafke