אָלרײַטניק

Yiddish edit

Alternative forms edit

אָל־רײַטניק (ol-raytnik)

Etymology edit

English all right +‎ ־ניק (-nik). Coined by Abe Cahan in the Forverts, to describe Jewish immigrants to the US in the early 20th century who flaunted their newly acquired wealth in a rather vulgar manner.

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): /ɔɫˈʁaɪ̯tnɪk/

Noun edit

אָלרײַטניק • (olraytnik) m, plural אָלרײַטניקעס (olraytnikes), feminine אָלרײַטניטשקע (olraytnitshke)

(derogatory, US) parvenu, nouveau riche, upstart
Synonyms: פּאַרוועניו (parvenyu), אויפֿגעקומענער גבֿיר (oyfgekumener g(e)vir), נוּוואָריש (nuvorish), דורכקריכער (durkhkrikher), פּאַמאַלניק (pamalnik)

References edit

Schaechter-Viswanath, Gitl, Glasser, Paul (2016) “nouveau riche”, in Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, →ISBN
Justus van de Kamp et al., “אָלרײַטניק” in Jiddisch-Nederlands Woordenboek [Yiddish-Dutch Dictionary], Amsterdam: Stichting Jiddische Lexicografie, 1987-present (ongoing). [1].