Definitions for "Yenta" Add To Word List
Login or Register  | Word Lists | Search History

(Yiddish) a vulgar shrew; a shallow coarse termagant
Helpful?           0
(Yiddish) a woman gossip unable to keep a secret; a woman who spreads rumors and scandal
Helpful?           0
a Jewish matchmaker, but you don't have
Helpful?           0
a Yiddish word that means nosy busybody
Helpful?           0
ossipy woman.
Helpful?           0
Yenta (יענתּאַ) from the Yiddish Yente, a back-formation from the woman's name Yente, alteration of Yentl, from Old Italian Gentile, from gentile, amiable, highborn, from Latin gentīlis, of the same clan. Despite its higher origins, today yenta is used as a descriptive term for a gossipy woman; a blabbermouth who can't keep a secret, a woman who spreads rumors and scandal and gladly gives advice whether or not one even wants it, and is sometimes used to refer to a woman who is a matchmaker.
Helpful?           0