goyish

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Pronunciations

goyish (GOY-ish) listen

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Definitions

  • adj. "In the manner or style of a non-Jewish person" (JPS), especially something WASPy or "white bread."

Example Sentences

  • "I can't believe she bought that tablecloth - it's so goyish!"

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

  • "All Drake's cakes are goyish. Pumpernickel is Jewish. White bread is very goyish. Instant potatoes - goyish. Black cherry soda is very Jewish. Macaroons are very Jewish - very Jewish cake. Fruit salad is Jewish. Lime jello is goyish. Lime soda is very goyish." (Lenny Bruce routine about which foods are Jewish and which are goyish, as quoted in an article in Moment magazine)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Yiddish גוייִש goyish 'gentile, non-Jewish'

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage
      • Ethnic: Jews whose Jewish identity is primarily ethnic

      Regions

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

      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

      goyishe

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