Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Yiddish ·1920s
Yenta
from יענטע (yente)
- Meaning
- A gossipy, busybody woman.
- Source word
- יענטע (yente)
- Route into English
- Yiddish *yente* (originally a Yiddish given name, Yente/Yentl, from Italian *gentile*) → English as a common noun for any chatty matchmaker, cemented by the character in *Fiddler on the Roof* (1964).
- Arrived
- 1920s
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.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.