kashe

Pronunciations

Definitions

  • n. A question posing some difficulty because of apparent inconsistencies with accepted premises: problem. A tough, perplexing question.

  • n. Question, difficulty (Steinmetz), challenge, objection.

Example Sentences

  • "What kind of kashe is that?" (Steinmetz)

  • "We have a quite a kashya here."

  • "It's no kashe how the Rosh Yeshiva's nephew got accepted to the yeshiva despite his shvache learning" (Weiser).

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Aramaic
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Aramaic קשיא kashya / Hebrew קשה kashe, 'difficult, hard'; Yiddish kashe

    • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain

      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).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).

      Alternative Spellings

      kashyeh, kashye, kasheh, kashya, kashah, kashoh, kasho, kasha, kashyah, kashyoh, kashyo

Notes

  • Not to be confused with kasha קאַשע buckwheat groats, which is often pronounced the same way.

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