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{{wiktionary|yenta}} {{wiktionary|yenta}}
'''Yenta''' or '''Yente''' ({{lang-yi|יענטאַ}}) is a ] women's given name. It is a variant form of the name ''Yentl'', which ultimately is thought to be derived from the Italian word ''gentile'', meaning 'noble' or 'refined'.<ref name="forverts">https://forward.com/sisterhood/171019/yentas-real-yiddish-history/</ref><ref>https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=yenta</ref> The name has entered ]—i.e., become a Yiddish loanword in Jewish varieties of English—as a word referring to a woman who is a gossip or a busybody.
'''Yenta''' or '''Yente''' ({{lang-yi|יענטאַ}}) is a ] designation for a woman who is a gentlewoman or noblewoman coming from the Yiddish translation of yenta to genteel/gentle. Yenta is derived from the Spanish name "Juanita".


The use of ''yenta'' as a word for 'busybody' originated in the age of Yiddish theater. In the 1920s the humorist Jacob Adler writing under his pen name B. Kovner for '']'', created the character Yente Telebende, a henpecking wife. The popularity of the character led to the the name developing its colloquial sense of 'a gossip'.<ref name="forverts" />
There is a mistaken belief that the word for a Jewish matchmaker is "yenta" or "yente". In reality a Jewish matchmaker is called a '']'' (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. The Yiddish name "Yente" derives from a word meaning "gentle" or "noble" but it has come to refer to a woman who is a gossip or a busybody, much like the character in the film.


There is{{cn}} 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.
In the age of Yiddish theater, it started referring to a '']'' or '']''. The word has since become ] (a Yiddish loanword in American Jewish English). In the 1920s Yenta was first popularized by the humorist Jacob Adler (not the actor ]) writing under his pen name B. Kovner, in which he created the character Yenta, and featured Yenta in a ] play entitled ''Yenta Telebenta''. Yenta was also his character in a 50-year writing career for '']''.


The name was used as the name of the ] in the ] ] hit '']''. It was the name of an Israeli spy agency in the 1960s TV sitcom ], in an episode titled 'The Man from Yenta'. In a different sitcom named after the main family, ], the group of women surrounding mother, Beverly Goldberg, call themselves "Frentas" a combination of the word "Friends" and "Yentas". ''Yenta'' was the name of an Israeli spy agency in the 1960s TV sitcom ], in an episode titled 'The Man from Yenta'. In a different sitcom named after the main family, ], the group of women surrounding mother, Beverly Goldberg, call themselves "Frentas" a combination of the word "Friends" and "Yentas".


The name has also been used for: The name has also been used for:
* The ] ] controller, which brings together Cardbus cards with the rest of the computer * The ] ] controller, which brings together Cardbus cards with the rest of the computer
* The name of a highly available key-value store for ]<ref>http://blogs.perl.org/users/jaw/2011/01/yenta---a-highly-available-key-value-store.html</ref> * The name of a highly available key-value store for ]<ref>http://blogs.perl.org/users/jaw/2011/01/yenta---a-highly-available-key-value-store.html</ref>
* The acronym of an Israeli equivalent of CONTROL in ] where it stood for Your Espionage Network and Training Academy


==See also== ==See also==

Revision as of 22:03, 29 September 2019

Yenta or Yente (Template:Lang-yi) is a Yiddish women's given name. It is a variant form of the name Yentl, which ultimately is thought to be derived from the Italian word gentile, meaning 'noble' or 'refined'. The name has entered Yinglish—i.e., become a Yiddish loanword in Jewish varieties of English—as a word referring to a woman who is a gossip or a busybody.

The use of yenta as a word for 'busybody' originated in the age of Yiddish theater. In the 1920s the humorist Jacob Adler writing under his pen name B. Kovner for The Jewish Daily Forward, created the character Yente Telebende, a henpecking wife. The popularity of the character led to the 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.

Yenta was the name of an Israeli spy agency in the 1960s TV sitcom Get Smart, in an episode titled 'The Man from Yenta'. In a different sitcom named after the main family, The Goldbergs, the group of women surrounding mother, Beverly Goldberg, call themselves "Frentas" a combination of the word "Friends" and "Yentas".

The name has also been used for:

  • The Linux CardBus controller, which brings together Cardbus cards with the rest of the computer
  • The name of a highly available key-value store for Perl

See also

References

  1. ^ https://forward.com/sisterhood/171019/yentas-real-yiddish-history/
  2. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=yenta
  3. http://blogs.perl.org/users/jaw/2011/01/yenta---a-highly-available-key-value-store.html
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