mashpia

Pronunciations

mashpia (mosh-PEE-ah) listen

Definitions

  • n. A spiritual mentor.

  • v. ('to be mashpie on') To influence.

Example Sentences

  • "I asked my mashpiah what I should do about yeshivah next year. The deadline to apply is pretty soon."

  • "The musar talks were mashpia on him to deal with his peers better." (Weiser)

  • "The weather was mashpia on the day's schedule of events." (Weiser)

  • "I think that new bochur was mashpia on everyone to start talking during class." (Weiser)

  • "The older bochur was mashpia on my brother to learn more." (Weiser)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • משפיע mashpia 'one who influences; influencing' > Y משפּיע זײַן mashpie zayn, lit. 'to be mashpia (to have an effect)'

    • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

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

      Dictionaries

      • 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

      mashpiah, mashpieh, mashpie

Notes

Edit     Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.