balaboosta
Pronunciations
balebuste | (BAH-leh-BUHS-teh) | listen |
Definitions
n. Female head of household.
n. Impressively competent homemaker.
Example Sentences
"Such a balaboste--she can make Shabbos for 20 in one afternoon."
Languages of Origin
- Textual Hebrew
- Yiddish
Etymology
Yiddish בעל־הביתטע bal(e)boste (masc. בעל־הבית bal(e)bos), from Hebrew בעל־הבית ba'al habayit 'owner/master of the house'
- Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
- Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
- Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage
- North America
- Great Britain
- South Africa
- Australia / New Zealand
- View More
- 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).
- Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
- View More
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
balabooste, bala booste, bala boosta, balabuste, balebosta, baleboste, balabusta, balebuste, baleboosteh, Bala baya, Balabaya
Notes
balabos / baleboss (בעל־הבית) with Yiddish feminine suffix -te (טע-). The textual Hebrew equivalent is בעלת הבית ba'alat habayit. Also a Middle Eastern restaurant in New York.
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