This page is an appeal to expand the most comprehensive Yiddish-English dictionary to date by Beinfeld/Bochner/Niborski/Vaisbrot. As a Yiddish translator, I find words, variant definitions of existing words, and many abbreviations that are simply not in the dictionary. I have started compiling a list, which I would gladly see incorporated in the dictionary’s second edition.
I will attempt to systematically show my proof for the given definitions, using examples from the original written Yiddish samples. At the same time, I have not chosen to add non-YIVO standard spelling, or German/English words simply written in Hebrew letters. The following are words that I believe truly should be new entries in the standard Yiddish dictionary.
Let me know what words you haven’t been able to find using the comment feature below!
New Yiddish Words
אין – in
to e.g., “to bring you and the children to a new country and have a happy life.” ((15.22.24))
אױך – oykh
even e.g., “Even Aunt Goldi knows this…”
אױסבױערן – oysboyern
to dig out, to bore into((15.9.7))
אונדז – undz
2. we e.g., “Undz shrayben nisht tsu keyn kinder zey zolen undz shikn gelt.” (We don’t write to any of the children to send us money.((15.8.2)))
אַזױרימעט – azoyermet
with it (?) comp. אַזױנאָך alt. spelling אַזױאַרימעט Confirmation: eydes.de
אָנברעכן – onbrekhn
אָנברעכן די בײנער – onbrekhn di beyner to beat up (See בײן)
everyone (accusative) see יעדערער e.g., “azoy vi ikh shik yedern eyn karte fun mir, azoy shik ikh dir oykh eyn.” (“Just like I send everyone a picture of me, I am sending you one too.((15.8.8))) Confirmation: eydes.de
ישובֿניק – yeshuvnik
see ייִשובֿניק (Jewish country bumpkin) Confirmation: eydes.de
paper, paper for rolling cigarettes Confirmation: eydes.de
פֿאַרנעכטן – farnekhtn
day before yesterday, two days ago((https://twitter.com/jewyid/status/996387733605056514))
פֿלעג – fleg
would (in the habitual past) e.g., “…a taykh, vu men flegt zumer geyen bodn.” (…a river, where people used to go swimming in the summer.) Confirmation: eydes.de
פֿרױ
ערשטע פֿרױ – ershte froy
First Lady of the United States((https://twitter.com/jewyid/status/996539918695501824))
picture e.g., “azoy vi ikh shik yedern eyn karte fun mir, azoy shik ikh dir oykh eyn.” (“Just like I’m sending everyone a picture of me, I’m sending you one too.((15.8.8))) Confirmation: eydes.de
קאַשע־װאַרנישקעס – kashe-varnishkes
see קאַשע־װאַרניטשקעס bowtie pasta with buckwheat Confirmation: eydes.de
to consider oneself Ikh shetz zikh mir glikhlekh.((15.9.3)) Confirmation: hebrewbooks
New Yiddish Abbreviations
‘ג – g’
got – God (equivalent to writing G-d)
גצ”ד – gts”d
got tzu danken – thank God
ק”ק – k”k
postcard((15.25.J-Gl1.17))
צב”ש – tsb”sh
tsum bayshpil – for example
צ”ג – ts”g
tsu gesund – bye
Hebrew Abbreviations
This section is for additional abbreviations that I’ve seen in handwritten Yiddish letters but which are Hebrew abbreviations. These are also not listed in the dictionary.
חו”ש – khv”sh – khas v’shalom – God forbid כ”ט – k”t – kol tuv – all the best למ”ה – lm”h – lma’an hashem – For the sake of heaven – context: “you should, lm”h, follow the …”((Kaplan will2)) רמ”ל – rm”l – rachmane litzlan – God help us((15.25.J-Gl1.21))