Pronunciations

Definitions

• interj. Oh god; dear god.
  

Example Sentences

Languages of Origin

• Yiddish

Etymology

• גאָטעניו gotenyu 'dear god'
  

Who Uses This

• Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

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).
• Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
• Yinglish: A Lexicon of Judeo-English by Aliza Bulow
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Alternative Spellings

gotenyu, gutenyu