be mevattel

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Definitions

  • v. To belittle, disparage.

Example Sentences

  • "To be mevattel a person or idea is not only to disparage him or her or it, or even to display a facile contempt." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish
  • English

Etymology

  • partial English calque of Y מבֿטל זײַן mevatl zayn 'to distract (from)'

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).

      Alternative Spellings

      be mevatel, be mevatl

Notes


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