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knaidel (KNAYD-uhl) - n., a small round dumpling made of matzoh meal, egg, and salt, usually served in soup.
The Yiddish word for a matzoh ball. Plural is knaidlach (KNAYD-lahkh). Also sometimes spelled kneydl, which is closer to a direct transliteration from Yiddish, as opposed to the transcription given above. First recorded English use is the early 1950s, which is surprisingly late for borrowing from Yiddish, especially for something so ubiquitous, but then there was already the perfectly acceptable term matzoh ball. Before Yiddish, it's Germanic origin -- compare modern German Knödel, dumpling.
---L.
The Yiddish word for a matzoh ball. Plural is knaidlach (KNAYD-lahkh). Also sometimes spelled kneydl, which is closer to a direct transliteration from Yiddish, as opposed to the transcription given above. First recorded English use is the early 1950s, which is surprisingly late for borrowing from Yiddish, especially for something so ubiquitous, but then there was already the perfectly acceptable term matzoh ball. Before Yiddish, it's Germanic origin -- compare modern German Knödel, dumpling.
---L.
