kumzits

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kumzits

Pronunciations

kumzits (KOOM-zits)

Definitions

  • n. Sing-along; campfire gathering with singing.

Example Sentences

  • "I always loved the Sunday night kumzits at camp."

Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish
  • Modern Hebrew

Etymology

  • Yiddish קום kum 'come', זיץ zits 'sit', which became Modern Hebrew קומזיץ

      • Who Uses This

      • Camp: Jews who attend or work at a Jewish overnight summer camp

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).

      Alternative Spellings

      kumsits, kumzitz

Notes

  • "Despite the existence of a Talmudic term, "tuzitz" for the same activity, and the fact that Israeli linguists attempted to replace the colloquial term with a "pure Hebrew" alternative: "Shev-na" ("please sit"), "kumzitz" never gave up its seat in the collective culture and history of Israel." (source)

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