maskil

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Pronunciations

maskil (MAHS-keel) listen

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Definitions

  • n. An intellectual associated with the Haskalah.

  • n. Someone preoccupied with the theoretical side of Hasidic theology.

Example Sentences

  • "The Maskilim are mostly teachers and writers; they taught a part of the young generation of Russian Jewry to read Hebrew and have created the great Neo-Hebrew literature which is the monument of Haskalah." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH מַשְׂכִּיל 'enlightened, intellectual' > Y משׂכּיל maskl

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)
      • Chabad: Jews affiliated with the Chabad Lubavitch movement
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      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • 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

      mahskilim, mahskil, maskilim

Notes

  • plural: 'maskilim'

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