assur

Alternative Spellings

asur, osur, oser, usser

Definitions

• forbidden

Example Sentences

• "it would be assur to back out of Shmonah Esrei ... into the peripheral front of someone davening behind you." (http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/some-basic-halacha-that-is-ignored-in-100-of-shuls-by-99-of-the-kahal)

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew

Etymology

Heb אסור asúr, Yiddish אָסור óser

Who Uses This

Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

Notes

Ashkenazi Orthodox Jews tend to stress the first syllable: UH-sir. (Yiddish also has penultimate stress: O-ser.)