svara

Alternative Spellings

svore, svora

Definitions

• justification, reason, plausible explanation
• guess, hypothesis

Example Sentences

• "I can't find a svara for taking time from learning to play games." (Weiser)
• "The svara for a convenience store is that for some items at certain times, people will pay double." (Weiser)
• "What is the svara for davka 4408 instead of 4398?" (http://keitzmeguleh.blogspot.com/2009/11/yishmaels-merit.html)

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew

Etymology

סברה, סברא

Who Uses This

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

Regions

North America, 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).

Notes

Also the name of a "traditionally radical Yeshiva" based in Chicago.