zis

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Pronunciations

zis (ZIHS) listen

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Definitions

  • adj. Sweet.

Example Sentences

  • "Growing up my grandparents used to call me zis and every year on Rosh Hashana would wish me a zis yor." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • זיס zis

      • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

      • North America

      Dictionaries

      • 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

      zees, zesa, zisa, zesah, zisah, zise, ziseh, zeese

Notes

  • "Used in such expressions as zeesen neshumeleh (a gentle soul) and a “have a zeesen Pesach” (have a sweet Passover)." (JPS)

    An -e is added at the end (zise) when used before a noun.

    See also zise and ziskeit.

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