Wordly benefits: On Sabbaticals and slain warriors of Israel

While similar break from work for those across the gender divide will be hard to come by, it is worthwhile to check out the origin of the word which appears to have given us our weekly offs.

Sabbatical traces its origin to Latin sabbaticus, Greek sabbatikos and to Hebrew Sabbath or the Sabbath. Sabbath is the 7th day of the week in Judaism and celebrated by Jews as a sacred day of rest. It starts from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. For Christians, it is Sunday. In modern times, sabbatical has come to mean any extended absence in the course of an individual’s career to achieve something.

Hebrew words form the mainstay of Yiddish. Derived from the German word for Jewish, it is a language of High German origin which was spoken by the Jews of Eastern Europe. Into the language have entered many Hebrew words picked up in various countries where Jews settled. Some have become standard English while others have retained a slangy flavour.

Chutzpah from Hebrew word for ‘gall’ has been a late entrant to our dictionaries. It is used frequently as a synonym for arrogance, pride, nerve. One of the best instances of its usage can be found from a news item in Time: “…demonstrating that he is a con man with unsurpassed chutzpah. Asked if he swindled an uncle out of $50,000, Weinberg quickly denied it. He then added: ‘It was a cousin’.” Chutzpah, therefore, refers to extreme gall, an attitude so rude that people may feel forced to admire.

Kosher is yet another Yiddish borrowing. Literally, it means “food proper to eat under Jewish dietary laws”. In more informal sense, it means honest, legal or legitimate, like: his business deals are not always kosher.

Shtick (also schtick) refers to a style of humour that is typical of a particular performer, a particular ability that one has.

Schmaltz (or schmalz) refers to an excessive sentimentality in art or music. Example: My evening was spoiled by a schmaltzy play.

Shibboleth has an interesting war story behind it. In the fight between two of Israel’s ancient tribes, the Gileadites defeated the Ephraimites. Later, Ephraimite refugees trying to cross Jordan river were arrested by Gileadites and those who denied their allegiance were put to a linguistic test. They were asked to pronounce the Hebrew word ‘shibboleth’, meaning ‘ear of grain’. Unable to pronounce the sound ‘sh’, the Ephraimites failed the test and were slain.

In modern usage, the word has many extended meanings. It may mean a word or a phrase used by adherents of a party or a sect. It also means an old idea, a phrase or a principle not considered relevant to modern life. About lagniappe, some other time.