gazlan

Pronunciations

gazlan (GAHZ-lihn) listen

Definitions

  • n. A robber, swindler.

Example Sentences

  • "Don't use that real estate agent anymore, he's such a gazlan!"

  • “Who would have believed that he would turn into such a gazlen?” (NJY)

  • "Don't use that travel agency anymore. They're real gazlanim." (Glinert)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH גזלן > Y גזלן gazln

    • Who Uses This

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

      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 Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      gazlen, gozlen

Notes

  • plural: 'gazlonim' or 'gazlanim'

Edit     Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.