Pronunciations

Definitions

• n. Region in the Catskill Mountains with many summer resorts frequented by Jews, especially in the mid twentieth century.
  

Example Sentences

Languages of Origin

• Yiddish
• English

Etymology

• Yiddish באָרשט borsht 'beetroot soup,' which may be a reference to the kosher food commonly served in the resorts; for English "Belt," cf. American English regions "Rust Belt" or "Sun Belt"
  

Who Uses This

• Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
• Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)
• Ethnic: Jews whose Jewish identity is primarily ethnic

Regions

• Australia / New Zealand

Dictionaries

• The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
• 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).

Alternative Spellings

Borsht Belt