dreidel

See also: Dreidel

English

WOTD – 10 December 2020

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), probably a blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) +‎ טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”). דרייען (dreyen) is derived from Middle High German dræn, from Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”); and טרענדל (trendl) is derived from Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), from Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɹeɪdl̩/
  • Audio (General American):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪdəl
  • Hyphenation: drei‧del

Noun

dreidel (plural dreidels)

  1. A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
    • 1927, “I Have a Little Dreidel”, Samuel S. Grossman (lyrics), Samuel Eliezer Goldfarb or Mikhl Gelbart (music):
      I have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay. / And when it's dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, then dreidel I shall play.
    • 2005 December 23, Jonathan Safran Foer, “A Beginner's Guide to Hanukkah”, in The New York Times‎[1], archived from the original on 12 December 2023:
      The dreidel is a spinning toy, painstakingly fashioned out of plastic polymer by Jewish craftsmen in Vietnam. Used for tabletop gambling games during Hanukkah, the dreidel often ends up on the floor and sometimes in the dog's small intestine.
    • 2012 December 14, Emanuella Grinberg and Christina Zdanowicz, “Celebrating Chrismukkah: Shalom stockings and Hanukkah bushes”, in CNN‎[2], archived from the original on 10 December 2013:
      Erickson shared images on CNN iReport that show mixed holiday decorations in their Falmouth, Massachusetts, home, from a menorah and advent calendar to stockings bearing the phrase “shalom” and plates decorated with dreidels on a red plaid table cloth. […] Like the Kopelmans, they have a Christmas tree with dreidel ornaments and a menorah, which they light each night.
    • 2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times‎[3], archived from the original on 7 December 2023, image caption:
      Students from the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah School danced in dreidel costumes at a menorah lighting in Detroit on Thursday.
  2. A gambling game played using this top.
    • 2022 January 19, Yair Rosenberg, “Why So Many People Still Don’t Understand Anti-Semitism”, in The Atlantic‎[4], archived from the original on 19 January 2022:
      We do not spend our days huddled in smoke-filled rooms plotting world domination while Jared Kushner plays dreidel in the back with Noam Chomsky and George Soros sneaks the last latke.

Alternative forms

Translations

See also

References

  1. ^ Compare “dreidel, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2019; “dreidel, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Anagrams

Portuguese

Noun

dreidel m (plural dreidels)

  1. dreidel (four-sided spinning top with Hebrew letters)
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