gevald

Alternative Spellings

gevalt, oy gevald, oy gevalt

Definitions

• an interjection of alarm

Example Sentences

• "Gevald! Why did you put that slimy thing in my sleeping bag?!"

Languages of Origin

Yiddish

Etymology

גװאַלד gvald 'violence, force; help!'

Who Uses This

Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

Regions

North America

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).
Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001)

Notes

See also: oy