Pronunciations
| melamed | (muh-LAH-mihd) | listen |
Definitions
n. A religious teacher.
n. (ironic) An incompetent person.
Example Sentences
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"It is hard for me to call you my melamed. I want to call you my master teacher, brilliant existentialist, Talmudist of little compare, poet par excellence, courageous leader, charismatic, captivating, and sweeping dramatist, and bearer of truth." (source)
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“Among the melamdim were many deeply pious men, dedicated to teaching—but their teaching could not help becoming repetitious and boring.” (NJY)
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“He has no luck—like a melamed.” (NJY)
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"It's not surprising Moses was the humblest of men—he worked till he was 120 as a melamed." (Glinert)
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Languages of Origin
- Textual Hebrew
- Yiddish
Etymology
מלמד melamed
- Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
- Older: Jews who are middle-aged and older
- North America
- The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
milamed, melamdim, milamdim
Notes
plural: 'melamdim'
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