Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Yiddish ·1960s
Kvetch
from kvetshn
- Meaning
- Literally "to squeeze" or "press" — hence, to complain persistently.
- Source word
- kvetshn
- Route into English
- Yiddish → American English via 1960s comedy. Leo Rosten's *The Joys of Yiddish* (1968) standardised the spelling and carried it into mainstream usage.
- Arrived
- 1960s
From Yiddish
Mass migration from Ashkenazi Eastern Europe to New York (1880–1920) funnelled Yiddish into American English, from where it diffused globally.
English borrows.
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