balabos

Definitions

• Male head of a household
• Proprietor

Example Sentences

• "We should let the balabos decide what song to sing."
• "A lot of balebatim in this neighborhood are against the new mall." (Glinert)

Languages of Origin

• Textual Hebrew
• Yiddish

Etymology

• Heb/Yiddish בעל־הבית bal(e)bós 'owner/master of the house', plural בעלי־הבתּים bal(e)bátim (also spelled באַלעבאַטים, באַלעבאָס)

Who Uses This

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

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).
• The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
• Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
• View More

Alternative Spellings

baleboss, balaboss, baalaboss, balebos

Notes

• Used in the plural ("balabatim" or "balabosim") to refer to the regular folk of the community, or sometimes to congregants/non-clergy, sometimes derogatorily. Example: "The balabatim don't want a long analysis of the sugya; they want a nice, inspiring dvar Torah."