Definitions

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  • noun Alternative spelling of chutzpah.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • ORIGIN Greek, ‘retribution’, personified as the goddess of divine punishment. chutzpah 1892, from Yiddish khutspe "impudence, gall" from Heb. hutspah.

    August 30th, 2006 2006

  • However, as a result of emulated polysemy, it has come, in English, to denote a positive quality, too (see the explanation of Jewish English khutspe on pp. 273-274 of "Words of Jewish Origin in English Dictionaries: The Case of farblondzhet,"

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XII No 1 1985

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