baal gaavah

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Pronunciations

baal gaavah (bahl GAY-vuh) listen

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Definitions

  • n. An arrogant or conceited person.

Example Sentences

  • "It is told that someone once asked Rav Elyashiv how can there be Talmid Chochom who is a Baal Gaava? Rav Elyashiv answered him that in fact there is no such thing. 'Either you don't know what a Talmid Chochom is or you don't know what a Baal Gaava is.'" (source)

  • "The mark of someone who is a ba’al ga’ava, a haughty person, is that he walks with a straight spine, upright, in a way which shows that he feels greater than everyone else. A humble person, however, tends to walk more bent over, in a submissive manner, realizing his lowliness in comparison to his Creator." (source)

  • "From a superficial understanding, he is a baal gaavah, but it is more than that. A person can be a baal gaavah because he thinks he is to be praised in a certain quality. But when it comes to other areas, he knows that he is weak in those areas, even though he won’t admit it. He only boasts about what he’s good at." (source)

  • "The ba'al ga'avah feels independent and autonomous , and hence boastful and proud. An anav, by contrast, while appreciating the religious mandate for human effort and initiative, understands that Hashem has endowed him with whatever abilities he possesses, sustains him, provides him with opportunities and crowns his efforts with success." (source)

  • "You, whom this Torah genius could have walked circles around had his mind been younger and keener, you, who had the audacity to smile when you approached to help him. You're such a ba'al ga'avah."" (source)

  • "He didn't 'forget' to mention you in the credits, he's just a plain baal gaave!" (Glinert)

  • "He's such a baal gaiva--every conversation he engages in, he steers toward talking about how great he is!"

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Hebrew בעל גאוה ba'al ga'ava 'lit. owner of pride', Yiddish בעל־גאווה bal-gave

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).

      Alternative Spellings

      bal gaavah, bal gaava, ba'al-gayveh, ba'al-gayvah, ba'al-gayve, ba'al-gayva, ba'al-gaiveh, ba'al-gaive, ba'al-gaivah, ba'al-gaiva, ba'al-ga'aveh, ba'al-ga'ave, ba'al-ga'avah, ba'al-ga'ava, ba'al-gaaveh, ba'al-gaavah, ba'al-gaave, ba'al-gaava, ba'algayveh, ba'algayve, ba'algayvah, ba'algayva, ba'algaiveh, ba'algaive, ba'algaivah, ba'algaiva, ba'alga'aveh, ba'alga'ave, ba'alga'avah, ba'alga'ava, ba'algaaveh, ba'algaave, ba'algaavah, baal-gaave, baal-gaavah, baal-gaava, baalgayveh, baalgayve, baalgayvah, baalgayva, baalgaiveh, baalgaive, baalgaivah, baalgaiva, baalga'aveh, baalga'ave, baalga'avah, baalga'ava, baalgaaveh, baalgaave, baalgaavah, baalgaava, baal gayveh, baal gayve, baal gayvah, baal gayva, baal gaiveh, baal gaive, baal gaivah, baal gaiva, baal ga'aveh, baal ga'ave, baal ga'avah, baal ga'ava, baal gaaveh, baal gaave, baal gaava, baal-gaaveh, baal-ga'ava, baal-ga'avah, baal-ga'ave, baal-ga'aveh, baal-gaiva, baal-gaivah, baal-gaive, baal-gaiveh, baal-gayva, baal-gayvah, baal-gayve, baal-gayveh, ba'al gaava, ba'al gaavah, ba'al gaave, ba'al gaaveh, ba'al ga'ava, ba'al ga'avah, ba'al ga'ave, ba'al ga'aveh, ba'al gaiva, ba'al gaivah, ba'al gaive, ba'al gaiveh, ba'al gayva, ba'al gayvah, ba'al gayve, ba'al gayveh, ba'algaava, bal gaave, bal gaaveh, bal ga'ava, bal ga'avah, bal ga'ave, bal ga'aveh, bal gaiva, bal gaivah, bal gaive, bal gaiveh, bal gayva, bal gayvah, bal gayve, bal gayveh, balgaava, balgaavah, balgaave, balgaaveh, balga'ava, balga'avah, balga'ave, balga'aveh, balgaiva, balgaivah, balgaive, balgaiveh, balgayva, balgayvah, balgayve, balgayveh, bal-gaava, bal-gaavah, bal-gaave, bal-gaaveh, bal-ga'ava, bal-ga'avah, bal-ga'ave, bal-ga'aveh, bal-gaiva, bal-gaivah, bal-gaive, bal-gaiveh, bal-gayva, bal-gayvah, bal-gayve, bal-gayveh

Notes

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