Sabra

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Pronunciations

Sabra (SAHB-ruh) listen

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Definitions

  • n. An Israeli.

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."

  • "All three boys are tsabarim, so they'll automatically be called for army service." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Modern Hebrew

Etymology

  • צבר tsabar, lit. 'prickly pear cactus'; from the idea that Israelis, like prickly pears, are thorny on the outside, and soft and sweet on the inside

      • 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
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      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).

Notes

  • plural: 'tsabarim'

    feminine counterpart: 'tzabarit'

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