shtetl
4
9.9
- noun
- /ˈʃtɛtəl/
- Judaism as destiny was close to being unchallenged in the old shtetl, from which most Jewish immigrants came.
- shtetl Jews
Examples
-
In the shtetl, we were our community, autonomous, complete.
Fiction book (2001) -
But they had turned their backs on their parents' shtetl world.
Academic text (2009) -
We met in the Shtetl in Poland.
-
I still recall an event that took place in our shtetl when I was a small boy.
Fiction book (2001) -
Both towns included some commerce, but neither took on as central a market role as the shtetl once did.
Academic text (2006) -
I was nine when she died, and I ran to throw myself on her grave in the shtetl.
Fiction book (2001) -
I mean, we don't live in the shtetl anymore.
-
The shtetl and the colonies contained a cemetery, bathhouse, and several centers of learning.
Academic text (2006) -
In the shtetl, the market—not the synagogue—stood at the center, and the houses radiated out from it.
Academic text (2006) -
I still recall an event that took place in our shtetl when I was a small boy.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Shtetl comes from Yiddish: shtot means 'town' and the small ending makes it a 'little town'. So shtetl refers to the small Jewish villages of Eastern Europe, especially those before World War II.