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{{Short description|Yiddish term for a gentlewoman or noblewoman}}
'''Yenta''' (YEN-tah) is a ] word referring to a ] or ]. Most definitions refer to it as a gossipy woman; a blabbermouth, who can't keep a secret, who spreads rumors and scandal.
{{wiktionary|yenta}}
'''Yenta''' or '''Yente''' ({{langx|yi|יענטע}}) is a ] woman's given name. It is a variant form of the name '''''Yentl''''' ({{langx|yi|יענטל}}), which ultimately is thought to be derived from the ] word '']'', meaning 'noble' or 'refined'.<ref name="forverts">{{cite web| url = https://forward.com/sisterhood/171019/yentas-real-yiddish-history/| title = Yenta's Real Yiddish History – The Forward| date = 12 February 2013}} </ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=yenta |title = yenta {{!}} Search Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref> The name has entered American English only in the form '''''yenta''''' in the senses of "meddler, busybody, blabbermouth, gossip" and is not only used to refer to women.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yenta | title=Definition of YENTA | date=4 August 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=yenta | title=The American Heritage Dictionary entry: Yenta }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/yenta | title=Yenta: Meaning and Definition of &#124; Infoplease }}</ref> Both the forms ''yenta'' and ''yente'' are used in ] (Jewish varieties of English) to refer to someone who is a gossip or a busybody.


The use of ''yenta'' as a word for 'busybody' originated in the age of Yiddish theatre. During and after World War I, Yiddish-language discs recorded in New York by theatre actors such as ] and ] portrayed the characters Mendel and Yente Telebende and sold so well that dozens of copycat recordings were made.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buhle |first1=Paul |title=From the Lower East Side to Hollywood : Jews in American popular culture |date=2004 |publisher=Verso |location=London |isbn=1859845983 |page=40 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sapoznik |first1=Henry |title=Klezmer! : Jewish music from Old World to our world |date=2006 |publisher=Schirmer Trade Books |location=New York |isbn=0825673240 |page=82 |edition=2nd}}</ref> The popularity continued in the 1920s and 1930s as the humorist Jacob Adler, writing under the pen name B. Kovner for '']'', wrote a series of comic sketches featuring the characters, with Yente as a 'henpecking wife'. The popularity of the character led to the name developing its colloquial sense of 'a gossip'.<ref name="forverts" />
It was also the name of the ] in the ] ] '']''. The name Yenta is also used by matchmaking websites and matchmaking software, and it is the name of the ] ] controller driver, which brings together Cardbus cards with the rest of the computer.


There is a mistaken belief that the word for a Jewish ] is ''yenta'' or ''yente''. In reality a Jewish matchmaker is called a '']'' (שדכן). The origin of this error is the 1964 musical '']'', in which a character named Yente serves as the matchmaker for the village of Anatevka.<ref name=Yent.NPR>{{cite web |website=NPR.org |date=June 13, 2012
Among ], the use of the word "Yenta" in the derogatory sense is considered by some as ] (] for "evil tongue", the Jewish ] of gossip which generally refers to true statements).
|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/06/14/154955498/whats-a-yenta
<!--- This sentence was continued with:
|title=What's a Yenta?
", since it is considered to defame all women who have that name, though many may be quite respectable."
|last=Joffe-Walt|first=Chana|access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref>
I could not understand what it is supposed to mean, so commented it out for now, needs explanation.--->


==Weblinks== ==Notable persons==
* ], Jewish-American Yiddish-language writer.
*
*], Jewish spritiual Hasidic leader
{{vocab-stub}}
*], Dutch microbiologist and politician
⚫ ]
*{{ill|Yentl Schieman|nl}} from ]
Tony Losurdo has won the 2006 Yenta of the year award.
*]
Congrats to Tony.
*]

==See also==
* ]

==References==
{{reflist}}

⚫ ]
]
]

Latest revision as of 07:35, 13 December 2024

Yiddish term for a gentlewoman or noblewoman

Yenta or Yente (Yiddish: יענטע) is a Yiddish woman's given name. It is a variant form of the name Yentl (Yiddish: יענטל), which ultimately is thought to be derived from the Italian word gentile, meaning 'noble' or 'refined'. The name has entered American English only in the form yenta in the senses of "meddler, busybody, blabbermouth, gossip" and is not only used to refer to women. Both the forms yenta and yente are used in Yinglish (Jewish varieties of English) to refer to someone who is a gossip or a busybody.

The use of yenta as a word for 'busybody' originated in the age of Yiddish theatre. During and after World War I, Yiddish-language discs recorded in New York by theatre actors such as Clara Gold and Gus Goldstein portrayed the characters Mendel and Yente Telebende and sold so well that dozens of copycat recordings were made. The popularity continued in the 1920s and 1930s as the humorist Jacob Adler, writing under the pen name B. Kovner for The Jewish Daily Forward, wrote a series of comic sketches featuring the characters, with Yente as a 'henpecking wife'. The popularity of the character led to the name developing its colloquial sense of 'a gossip'.

There is a mistaken belief that the word for a Jewish matchmaker is yenta or yente. In reality a Jewish matchmaker is called a shadchan (שדכן). The origin of this error is the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof, in which a character named Yente serves as the matchmaker for the village of Anatevka.

Notable persons

See also

References

  1. ^ "Yenta's Real Yiddish History – The Forward". 12 February 2013.
  2. "yenta | Search Online Etymology Dictionary".
  3. "Definition of YENTA". 4 August 2024.
  4. "The American Heritage Dictionary entry: Yenta".
  5. "Yenta: Meaning and Definition of | Infoplease".
  6. Buhle, Paul (2004). From the Lower East Side to Hollywood : Jews in American popular culture. London: Verso. p. 40. ISBN 1859845983.
  7. Sapoznik, Henry (2006). Klezmer! : Jewish music from Old World to our world (2nd ed.). New York: Schirmer Trade Books. p. 82. ISBN 0825673240.
  8. Joffe-Walt, Chana (June 13, 2012). "What's a Yenta?". NPR.org. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
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