teiku

Alternative Spellings

teyku, taiku, teku

Definitions

• The question remains unanswered.
• An unanswered question.

Example Sentences

• "Rambam always paskens a 'teiku' as a 'safeik', but often will take a side on an 'ibaya de-lo ifshetta' (unanswered question), which means that he regarded teiku as a bona fide psak." (http://adderabbi.blogspot.com/2005/03/lesson-in-basic-talmudic-vocabulary.html)

Languages of Origin

Aramaic, Yiddish, Modern Hebrew

Etymology

תיקו

Who Uses This

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

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

None

Notes

In Modern Hebrew, teiku means 'tie' in a competition, as in a football match. See discussion of this word here: http://www.balashon.com/2006/07/teiku.html and http://haprozdor.blogspot.com/2006/08/teiku.html