goldene medina

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Pronunciations

goldene medina (GOLE-deh-neh meh-DEE-nah)

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Definitions

  • n. The term used by Eastern European Jews to refer to the United States.

  • n. A miraculous hope that ends in disappointment.

  • n. Paradise.

Example Sentences

  • "'Look!' someone cried. 'There goes the mayor of Dublin—and he’s a Jew!' 'Ai-ai-ai,' clucked the matron. 'Where could such a thing happen? Only in this goldene medine!'" (NJY)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Y גאָלדענע מדינה goldene medine, lit. 'golden country'; from the belief that the streets in America were paved with gold

      • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

      • North America

      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).

      Alternative Spellings

      goldene medine, goldene medinah, goldene medineh, goldeneh medina, goldeneh medine, goldeneh medinah, goldeneh medineh

Notes

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