gezunterheyt

Pronunciations

gezunterheyt (ge-ZOOHN-ta-hayt) listen
gezunterheyt (geh-ZUUN-tur-HAYT) listen

Definitions

  • interj. Go ahead.

  • interj. If you must; good for you.

  • adv. In good health.

Example Sentences

  • "If that's what they think, then, gezunteheit, live and be well." (source)

  • "You want to go that badly? Gezunteheyt. I'll just stay home alone- and sit here in the dark."

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)
  • “Smoke gezunterheyt, but open the window, please.” (Weiser)

Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • געזונטערהײט gezunterheyt

    • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
      • 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).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).

      Alternative Spellings

      gezunteheit, gesunteheit

Notes

  • Used in several Yiddish expressions, sometimes used whole in Jewish English: es gezunteheit (eat in health), shlof gezunteheit (sleep well), gey gezunteheyt (go in good health).

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