Pronunciations

Definitions

  • n. A young unmarried male, especially a yeshiva student.

  • n. A scholarly, shy boy.

  • n. A naive boy.

  • n. (bachor) A firstborn.

Example Sentences

  • “We hosted a fifteen year old bochur for Shabbos.”

  • "You did your Hebrew school homework before it was due? You’re turning into a regular yeshivah bocher." (JPS)

  • “He is as gentle as a yeshiva bokher.” (NJY)

  • “He has about as much knowledge of girls as a yeshiva bokher.” (NJY)

  • “Don’t ask him for an opinion; he’s a yeshiva bokher.” (NJY)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Heb בחור bakhúr, Yiddish בחור bókher

    • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • Yinglish: A Lexicon of Judeo-English by Aliza Bulow

      Alternative Spellings

      bokhur, bachur, bocher, bokher, bakher, bachur, bachor, bakhur, bakhor

Notes

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