The word
Yid is a
slangSlang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. It is often used as a way to say words that are not appropriate, and is not often found in the standard dictionary for the language...
Jewish ethnonymThis article lists the ethnonyms of the Jewish people in various linguistic contexts. See the article Jew, Jew and the Footnotes for etymological and other information...
. Its usage may be controversial in modern
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
. It is not usually considered offensive when (rhyming with
deed), the way Yiddish-speakers say it, though some may deem the word offensive regardless. When pronounced (rhyming with
did), it can generally be perceived as a
pejorativePejoratives are terms which have a negative connotation. Sometimes a term may begin as a pejorative word and eventually be adopted in a non-pejorative sense...
—and is used as a derogatory
epithetAn epithet is a descriptive word or phrase accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a person or thing, which has become a fixed formula...
by antisemites. Although many Jewish people use the term amongst themselves and a Jewish dating website of the same name exists. . .
Some supporters of
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English professional football club based in Tottenham, North London which currently plays in the Premier League...
adopted a
nicknameA nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience A nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a descriptive name...
"Yid" (or "Yiddo") and often identify as "Yid Army". Used as a badge of pride by the Jewish communities based near to the North London football club, such usage is not without a controversy.
Etymology
The term
Yid has its origins in the
Middle High GermanMiddle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
word
(the contemporary
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
word is
).
Leo RostenLeo Calvin Rosten was born in Lodz, Russian Empire and died in New York City. He was a teacher and academic, but is best known as a humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism and Yiddish lexicography.-Scriptwriter:Rosten was a successful screenwriter...
provides the following
etymologyEtymology is the study of the history of words and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages, and texts about the languages, to gather knowledge about how words were used at earlier stages, and...
:
From the GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
: Jude: 'Jew.' And 'Jude' is a truncated form of Yehuda, which was the name given to the Jewish CommonwealthIn the Bible, the Israelites were the descendants of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. They were divided into twelve tribes, each descended from one of twelve sons or grandsons of Jacob....
in the period of the Second TempleThe Second Temple was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE. During this time, it was the center of Jewish worship, which focused on the sacrifices known as the korbanot...
. That name, in turn, was derived from the name of one of JacobJacob , also known as Israel , was the third Biblical patriarch and ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel, named after ten of his twelve sons, as well as the two sons of his son Joseph.The Bible says...
's sons, Yehuda (Judah, in EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
), whose descendants constituted one of the tribes of Israel and who settled in that portion of CanaanCanaan is an ancient term for a region encompassing modern-day Israel and Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, plus adjoining coastal lands and parts of Jordan, Syria and northeastern Egypt...
from JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
south to Kadesh-Barnea (50 miles south of BeershebaBeersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 186,100....
) and from JerichoJericho is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate, and has a population of over 20,000 Palestinians. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest...
westwards to the Mediterranean.
History
The earliest mention of the word
Yid in print was in
The Slang Dictionary published by
John Camden HottenJohn Camden Hotten was an English bibliophile and publisher.Hotten was born in Clerkenwell, London to a family of Cornish origins. In 1855 he opened a small bookshop in London, and founded the publishing firm later known as Chatto & Windus...
in 1874. Hotten noted that "The Jews use these terms very frequently."
After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, most examples of the word
Yid are found in the writing of Jewish authors. These occurrences are usually either attempts to accurately portray antisemitic speech, or
self-deprecatingSelf-deprecation is communication that expresses something negative about its originator, without this being called for in context by some other person...
Jewish humorJewish humour is the long tradition of humour in Judaism dating back to the Torah and the Midrash, but generally refers to the more recent stream of verbal, self-deprecating and often anecdotal humour originating in Eastern Europe and which took root in the United States over the last hundred years...
. In his 1968 bestseller
The Joys of YiddishThe Joys of Yiddish is a book containing the lexicon of common words and phrases in the Yiddish language, primarily focusing on those words that had become known to speakers of American English due to the influence of American Jews...
, Leo Rosten offers a number of anecdotes from the "
Borscht BeltBorscht Belt is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster Counties in upstate New York that were a popular vacation spot for New York City Jews from the 1920s through the 1960s....
" to illustrate such usage.
Usage in Yiddish
In Yiddish, the word "Yid" is neutral or even complimentary, and in Ashkenazi Yiddish-speaking circles it is frequently used to mean simply "fellow," "chap," "buddy," "mate," etc., with no expressed emphasis on Jewishness (although this may be implied by the intra-Jewish context). Plural is .
In Yiddish, a polite way to address a fellow Jew whose name one does not know is
Reb Yid, meaning "Sir." The Yiddish words
yidish or
yiddisher (from Middle High German
jüdisch) is an adjective derived from the noun
Yid, and thus means "Jewish."
Usage in European football
Both Jewish and non-Jewish fans of
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English professional football club based in Tottenham, North London which currently plays in the Premier League...
adopted "Yid" (or "Yiddo") as a
nicknameA nickname is a descriptive name given in place of or in addition to the official name of a person, place or thing. It can also be the familiar or truncated form of the proper name, which may sometimes be used simply for convenience A nickname (also spelled "nick name") is a descriptive name...
and "Yiddo, Yiddo!" as a
battle cryA battle cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same military unit.Battle cries are not necessarily articulate, although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious sentiment....
and often identify themselves as "Yid Army". While such usage remains controversial, for the overwhelming majority of Tottenham supporters, it is used with pride. Some Jewish Tottenham supporters use it with a political consciousness of the club as a bastion against racism and antisemitism. Others use it simply due to the fact that many of the fans and owners of the club are Jews. However, the name was first given to the supporters as an insult, due to the large Jewish following at the club which is based close to the Jewish communities of North London. The racist chant "Yiddo" is used to taunt the club when playing as well. Opposition supporters also use repetition of the sound 'sss' to mock the sound of leaking gas, referencing to the gasing of the Jews in the Second World War.