heimish
heimish
Alternative Spellings
hamish, haymish, heymish, haimish
Definitions
- 3. at home, comfortable
- 1. familiar, homey, informal, cozy, warm
- 2. Haredi Orthodox
Example Sentences
- "The president does have a heimishe neshama" (Call Your Zeyde: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWzCmeURev0)
- "I only eat food with haimish hashgacha."
- "This condo is my favorite so far. It feels so heymish."
- "The bochrim felt heimish enough by the balebatim to help themselves to anything in the fridge.” (Weiser)
Languages of Origin
Yiddish
Etymology
הײמיש heymish 'homey; cozy; familiar' (from הײם heym 'home')
Who Uses This
Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
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).
The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
Notes
Haredi Jews use "heimish" as an adjective for individuals, events, businesses, and institutions, indicating that they are in-group. Other Jews use it with the more general meaning, usually not about individuals. Orthodox communities sometimes use "heimishe" preceding a noun.
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