mechuten

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Pronunciations

mechuten (mi-CHOOH-t(e)n) listen

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Definitions

  • n. In-law. (source)

  • n. The father of one's child's spouse, though can sometimes be used to refer to the grandfather of one's grandchild's spouse.

Example Sentences

  • "My daughter married his son, so he's my mekhutn."

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Hebrew מחותן mechutan, Yiddish מחותּן mekhutn 'son-in-law's/daughter-in-law's father'. (Roughly 'of or belonging to the groom' although applying to either set of parents.)

      • Who Uses This

      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      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).
      • View More

      Alternative Spellings

      mehuten, mekhutan, mekhuten, mechutun, mechutn, mekhutun, mechutan, mekhutn, mehutan, mehutun, mehutn

Notes

  • Most often used in plural: mechutonim / machutonim / machetunim / mechutanim (מחותנים, parents of one's child's spouse; child's in-laws, spouse's extended family).

    See also mechuteneste.

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