shadchen

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Pronunciations

shadchen (SHAHD-chihn) listen
shadchan (shahd-CHAHN) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A matchmaker.

Example Sentences

  • "It's not like we have a shadchen to help us find husbands anymore." (in explanation of how Jewish marriage works for liberal Jews)

  • "I should talk to the shadchen about my niece."

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH שדכן shadkhán > Y שדכן shátkhn

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

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

      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).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
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      Alternative Spellings

      shadchan, shadkhn, schadchen, schadchan

Notes

  • plural: 'shadchanim' or 'shadkhonim'

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