Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Yiddish ·1960s
Schmear
from שמיר (shmir)
- Meaning
- A smear (especially of cream cheese on a bagel); a whole package or set.
- Source word
- שמיר (shmir)
- Route into English
- Yiddish *shmir* (a smear, from German *Schmiere*, grease) → English via American delis → "the whole schmear" meaning a comprehensive package mirrors "the whole megillah."
- Arrived
- 1960s
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.
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