mamzer

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Pronunciations

mamzer (MAHM-zer) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A bastard according to Jewish law.

  • n. A detestable, untrustworthy person.

Example Sentences

  • "It's shocking that there is a mamzer status in the Israeli legal system."

  • "Rosie, my lovely wife, I’m sorry I been such a mamzer." (source)

  • “He may swindle you, that mamzer.” (NJY)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Heb ממזר mamzér, Yiddish mámzer

      • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa
      • Australia / New Zealand

      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).
      • 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).
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      Alternative Spellings

      momzer, mamzor

Notes

  • According to Jewish law, a mamzer is not one whose parents aren't married but someone whose two parents were married to other people at the time of his birth.

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