Skip to main content
sheitel

sheitel

9.9
A wig that married Orthodox Jewish women wear to cover their hair
  • noun
  • /ˈʃeɪtəl/
  • Jargon
translation icon : sheitel
  • She chose a beautiful sheitel to wear at her nephew's wedding.

Examples

  • Many married Orthodox Jewish women wear a sheitel as part of their religious practice.

  • All Elizabeth's sheitels are auburn.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Most often in Kaaterskill, she wears a kerchief over her hair, but she brings the sheitels up and keeps them on the top shelf of her closet on faceless white Styrofoam heads.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • For special occasions, she always opts for her best sheitel to maintain her modesty.

How Natural

sheitel
  • Jargon
9.9
wig
220 1.3
toupee
43 7.6

Surface Forms

sheitel singular
sheitels plural

Etymology

Sheitel comes from Yiddish and the German word Scheitel, which means 'part' and refers to the line where the hair divides, and the Yiddish ending -l makes it a 'little' or friendly form. So a sheitel is a hair 'piece' worn by some married Orthodox Jewish women to cover their hair for religious reasons.