pekel

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Pronunciations

pekel (PEH-k(e)l) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A knapsack, bundle.

  • n. A history of troubling or problematic personal issues.

  • v. (to leave someone a pekel) To get someone pregnant.

Example Sentences

  • "I'm making pekelekh for the kids to take home after my son's upsherin."

  • "When it comes time for shidduchim, you realize that practically everyone has a pekel."

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

  • "He left her a pekl." (NJY)

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Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • פּעקל pekl (plural פּעקלעך peklekh)

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • North America
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).

      Alternative Spellings

      peckl, peckel, pekl

Notes

  • Often used in plural: pekelekh, pekelach, pekelach, pekelech, peckelach.

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