mechaye
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Pronunciations

mechaye (muh-KHYE-uh) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Pleasure, enjoyment.

  • n. Something pleasurable.

Example Sentences

  • "To hear you sing--such a mechaye." (young Reform cantor in Manhattan)

  • "It's such a mechaye to see you again."

  • "Thank goodness you have air conditioning in your car. What a mechaye!" (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish
  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • Y מחיה mekháye 'delight, pleasure' from TH מחיה '(something that) vitalizes, rejuvenates'

      • Who Uses This

      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older

      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).
      • Yinglish: A Lexicon of Judeo-English by Aliza Bulow

      Alternative Spellings

      mekhaya, m'khaye, mechaya, machaya, mechayeh, mekhayeh, mekhayeh, mechiah, mechia, mechayah, mechaya

Notes

  • Usually said with the article "a" (i.e., a mechaye), as in Yiddish.

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