sabra

Pronunciations

sabra

(SAHB-ruh)

Definitions

• n. A prickly pear, "tough and prickly on the outside, tender and sweet on the inside--a description that many say fits citizens of the Jewish state." (JPS)
  

Example Sentences

• "I don't like that guy; he's so standoff-ish."
  

• "Oh, don't worry about that. He's Israeli, he's a real sabra."
  

Languages of Origin

• Modern Hebrew

Etymology

• צבר tsabar
  

Who Uses This

• Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
• Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

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).
• The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).