Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Yiddish ·1930s
Mensch
from mentsh
- Meaning
- A decent, honourable person.
- Source word
- mentsh
- Route into English
- Yiddish *mentsh* (from German *Mensch*, person) → American English. In German *Mensch* just means *human*; Yiddish adds a strong moral sense, and it is this sense that English borrowed.
- Arrived
- 1930s
From Yiddish
Mass migration from Ashkenazi Eastern Europe to New York (1880–1920) funnelled Yiddish into American English, from where it diffused globally.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.