- nebbish
- noun Etymology: Yiddish nebekh poor, unfortunate, from Czech nebohý Date: 1951 a timid, meek, or ineffectual person • nebbishy adjective
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
nebbish
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Nebbish — Neb bish (m[e^]b [i^]sh) n. [Yiddish, nebekh poor, unfortunate.] A person who is ineffectual, timid, and often luckless; a person of no significance. [PJC] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
nebbish — (n.) 1905, nebbich, from Yiddish (used as a Yiddish word in American English from 1890s), from a Slavic source akin to Czech neboh poor, unfortunate, lit. un endowed, from Proto Slavic *ne bogu , with negative prefix (see UN (Cf. un ) (1)) + PIE… … Etymology dictionary
nebbish — ☆ nebbish [neb′ish ] n. [< Yiddish nebekh, pity, pitiably] a person who is pitifully inept, ineffective, shy, dull, etc. nebbishy adj … English World dictionary
nebbish — noun a) One who is fearful and timid, especially in making decisions and plans, in discussions, debates, arguments, and confrontations, and in taking responsibility. Actor often plays a nebbish. b) A loser. “I dont consider myself a nebbish,”… … Wiktionary
nebbish — nebbishy, adj. /neb ish/, n. Slang. a pitifully ineffectual, luckless, and timid person. [1890 95; < Yiddish nebekh poor, unfortunate, prob. < Slavic; cf. Czech nebohý poor; sp. with sh perh. < Western Yiddish forms of the word] * * * … Universalium
nebbish — Synonyms and related words: Milquetoast, a nobody, a nothing, baby, big baby, chicken, cipher, common man, crybaby, doormat, dud, dull tool, dummy, figurehead, gutless wonder, hollow man, insignificancy, invertebrate, jackstraw, jellyfish, lay… … Moby Thesaurus
nebbish — (Roget s Thesaurus II) noun A totally insignificant person: cipher, nobody, nonentity, nothing. Informal: pip squeak, zero. Slang: shrimp, zilch. See IMPORTANT … English dictionary for students
nebbish — n a fool, an ineffectual, clumsy or pathetic person. The word entered Eng lish speech from Yiddish in which one of its meanings is a pitiful nonentity or loser . The ultimate origin of the word is the Czech adjective nebohy, meaning unhappy,… … Contemporary slang
nebbish — nebɪʃ n. (Slang) pathetic person, pitiful person (Yiddish) … English contemporary dictionary
nebbish — (NEH bish) [Yiddish, from Czech] An unfortunate; a weak, luckless, and ineffectual person; a wimp; a loser; a pitiful specimen … Dictionary of foreign words and phrases
