Yenta
Encyclopedia
Yenta or Yente is a Yiddish female name which is used generically for an old gossip
.
In the age of Yiddish theater, it started referring to a busybody or gossipmonger. The word has since become Yinglish
(a Yiddish loanword in American Jewish English). In the 1920s Yenta was first popularized by a famous humorist, Jacob Adler, writing under his pen name B. Kovner, in which he created the character Yenta, and featured Yenta in a Broadway
play entitled Yenta Telebenta. Yenta was also his character in a 50 year writing career for the Jewish Daily Forward.
The name was used as the name of the matchmaker
in the Broadway
musical hit, Fiddler on the Roof
, was further popularized in the famous movie "Yentl
", by Barbra Streisand, and the word has also come to mean "matchmaker" in modern usage.
The name has also been used as the following:
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
.
In the age of Yiddish theater, it started referring to a busybody or gossipmonger. The word has since become Yinglish
Yinglish
Yinglish words are neologisms created by speakers of Yiddish in English-speaking countries, sometimes to describe things that were uncommon in the old country...
(a Yiddish loanword in American Jewish English). In the 1920s Yenta was first popularized by a famous humorist, Jacob Adler, writing under his pen name B. Kovner, in which he created the character Yenta, and featured Yenta in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play entitled Yenta Telebenta. Yenta was also his character in a 50 year writing career for the Jewish Daily Forward.
The name was used as the name of the matchmaker
Matchmaking
Matchmaking is any process of matching two people for the purpose of marriage or a sporting contest.-Practice:In some cultures, the role of the matchmaker was and is quite professionalized...
in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical hit, Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
, was further popularized in the famous movie "Yentl
Yentl (film)
Yentl is a 1983 romantic musical drama film from United Artists, and directed, co-written, co-produced, and starring Barbra Streisand based on the play of the same name by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer, itself based on Singer's short story, "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy".The dramatic story...
", by Barbra Streisand, and the word has also come to mean "matchmaker" in modern usage.
The name has also been used as the following:
- The name of a highly-available key-value store for PerlPerlPerl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
- The name of the LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
CardBus controller, which brings together Cardbus cards with the rest of the computer. - The fictional electronic matchmaking PDA featured in the film ShortbusShortbusShortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
. - Satirically, in the 1967 Get SmartGet SmartGet Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
episode "The Man from YENTA", where it was composed of the initials of "Your Espionage Network and Training Academy", a fictitious Israeli secret service organization. This is a play on the title of the spy show, The Man from UNCLE. - The name given to Dr. Frankie Bashan, "The Lesbian Yenta", an advice columnist for Curve magazine.