פֿראַלע
Yiddish
editEtymology
editפֿרוי (froy, “miss; woman”) (pronounced *פֿראַו (*frau) in Western Yiddish) suffixed with a diminutive cognate to ־עלע (-ele),[1] morphologically (but not semantically) equivalent to German Fräulein.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editפֿראַלע • (frale) f, plural פֿראַלעס (frales)
- (Western Yiddish, now chiefly Alsace and pockets near Amsterdam[2]) grandmother
- Synonyms: (Eastern Yiddish) באָבע (bobe), אָמאַ (oma), גראָסמאַמאַ (grosmama), (much of Western Yiddish, but also pockets in Eastern Europe) גראָסמוטער (grosmuter), גרויסמוטער (groysmuter)
- Coordinate term: האַרלע (harle, “(Western Yiddish) grandfather”)
Usage notes
edit- Like האַרלע (harle), seems to be used by German non-Jews (but not Jews) near Frankfurt, as *Fraale or *Fraile.
References
edit- ^ https://yiddish.forward.com/articles/175178/index.html
- ^ The Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry: The Eastern Yiddish - Western Yiddish Continuum, Volume III, Niemeyer, 2010, p.194-195