smach

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Definitions

  • n. Basis, grounds, authority.

Example Sentences

  • “Rebbe brought down a Tosfos as a smach for his pshat in the Taz.” (Weiser)

  • "So the notion of bochurim being allowed to take up smoking on the smach they will later quit is immature, medically foolish, and against halacha." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH סמך > Y סמך s(e)makh

      • 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

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

      Alternative Spellings

      smakh

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