landsman

Pronunciations

landsman (LAHNTS-mun) listen

Definitions

  • n. Someone who originates from the same area as someone else, especially if one or both of them no longer live there.

Example Sentences

  • "Our great-grandfathers were landsmen."

  • "B'emet (really), you're from Scarsdale? Well then we're landsmen -- I'm from Teaneck!" (said in Florida)

Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • לאַנדסמאַן landsman (plural לאַנדסלײַט landslayt)

    • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • 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).

      Alternative Spellings

      landsmen, lundsmen, landslayt

Notes

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