geshmat

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Pronunciations

geshmat (guh-SHMAHT)

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Definitions

  • adj. Converted from Judaism, especially to Christianity.

  • n. A convert from Judaism, especially to Christianity.

  • n. A change in belief or conduct.

Example Sentences

  • "I know that Leonard Birdsong III is a cryto-Jew. My God, he's passing—the geshmat!" (Oreo by Fran Ross)

  • “On a bitterly cold, snowy, dreadful night in a Polish town, old Salkowitz, feeling his time had come, called to his wife: 'Shurele, please, send someone to the priest and tell him to come right away—I am dying!' 'The priest? You must have a fever! You mean the rabbi.' 'I mean the priest!' snapped Salkowitz. 'May God protect us! Are you secretly geshmat?' 'No, no; but why disturb the rabbi on a night like this?'” (NJY)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Y געשמדט geshmat

      • 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).

      Alternative Spellings

      geshmatt, geshmott, geshmot, geshmadt, geschmad, geschmat, geschmadde

Notes

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