to be mevayesh

Pronunciations

to be mevayesh (meh-VAH-yish) listen

Definitions

  • v. To publicly rebuke.

  • v. To cause shame to, embarrass.

Example Sentences

  • "Mrs. Adelson was mavayish a big developer at the Lakewood town meeting."

  • "When he told everyone my bad grade, the teacher was mevayesh me publicly." (Weiser)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • calque of Yid. מבֿייש זײַן mevayesh zayn 'shame, disgrace, humiliate'

    • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • 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

      to be mevayish, to be mavayesh, to be mavayish

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