gesundheit

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Pronunciations

gesundheit (guh-ZOONT-hayt) listen

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Definitions

  • interj. Bless you (said in response to a sneeze).

Example Sentences

  • "If someone sneezes, anyone near them might say 'gesundheit.'"

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

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Languages of Origin

  • German

Etymology

  • gesundheit 'health; bless you!'

      • 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
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      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

      gezunthayt, gezunteit, gezuntayt, gezundheit, gesunthayt, gesunteit, gesuntayt, gezuntheit

Notes

  • While many assume that this word comes from Yiddish, it actually comes from German. The Yiddish equivalent is צו געזונט tsu gezunt 'to (your) health'.

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