sufganiyot

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Pronunciations

sufganiyot (soof-gah-nee-YOHT) listen

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Definitions

  • n. Jelly-filled donuts traditionally eaten on Chanukah.

Example Sentences

  • "He brought home sufganiyot for the kids."

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Languages of Origin

  • Modern Hebrew

Etymology

  • סופגניות sufganiyot (sg. סופגנייה/סופגניה sufganiya), may derive from Hebrew word for sponge (ספוג), as in a spongecake

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements

      Regions

      • South Africa
      • Australia / New Zealand

      Dictionaries

      • 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

      sufganiot, sufganyot

Notes

  • The food seems to predate the Modern Hebrew term. In Yiddish they are known as פּאָנטשקעס pontshkes.

    Singular (sufganiya) is less commonly used in English; this parallels the English word homentashen (where the Yiddish singular, homentash, is rarely used in English).

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