middos

Edit

Pronunciations

middot (mee-DOHT) listen

Record a Pronunciation

Definitions

  • n. Character traits; moral and ethical values.

Example Sentences

  • "The most important thing about a potential spouse is that he or she has good middos."

  • "I'm so glad she's going out with him, he has such good midot." (Glinert)

Record a Sentence

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH מידה midá (plural: מידות midót) > Y מידה míde 'habit, manner' (plural: מידות mídes)

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).

      Alternative Spellings

      middot, midda, midos, midot, midah, mida

Notes

  • singular: 'mida'
    Jewish-English "good middos" is likely a loan translation of Yiddish גוטע מידות gute mides 'virtue'.

Edit     Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.