gefilte fish

Pronunciations

gefilte fish (geh-FIHL-tuh FISH) listen

Definitions

  • n. Minced sweet or sour fish, cooked in balls or a log and sliced.

Example Sentences

  • "Should we have salmon or gefilte fish Friday night?"

Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • געפֿילטע פֿיש gefilte fish 'stuffed/filled fish' because the chopped fish used to be placed back in the fish for cooking

    • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

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

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

      Alternative Spellings

      gefilta fish

Notes

  • Gefilte fish is a mix of several types of fish.

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