sheitel

Definitions

• n. Wig; worn by some observant Jewish women after marriage. "A wig worn by strictly Orthodox...women as a [hair] covering." (Steinberg)
  

Example Sentences

• "My friend Miriam didn't want to wear a sheitel, but her mother-in-law won her over."
  

Languages of Origin

• Yiddish

Etymology

• שײטל sheytl
  

Who Uses This

• Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

Regions

• North America

Dictionaries

• The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
• The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
• Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

Alternative Spellings

shaytl, sheytl, shaytel, sheytel