gelt

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Pronunciations

gelt (GELT) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Money (slang usage).

  • n. "The foil wrapped chocolate coins that are a traditional Hanukkah treat for children." (JPS)

Example Sentences

  • "For Chanukah we give out gelt."

  • "Yossi spent a considerable amount of money for the membership fees, and lots of gelt on jogging outfits, BUT NEVER LOST A POUND!" (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • געלט

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa
      • Australia / New Zealand
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      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).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
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Notes

  • From the Yiddish word for money, cognate to English "gold."

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