zets

Edit

Pronunciations

zetz (ZEHTS) listen

Record a Pronunciation

Definitions

  • n. A punch.

  • n. A blow, setback.

Example Sentences

  • "He gave me a zets I'll never forget!" (Rosten)

  • "Breaking her hip was a zetz she didn't need." (JPS)

  • "Don't make me give you a zetz!" (source)

Record a Sentence

Languages of Origin

  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • זעטס zets 'punch, blow'

      • Who Uses This

      • Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      Regions

      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).

      Alternative Spellings

      zetz

Edit     Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.

Share this word: