Doubling Dutch

Native Dutch speaker Gerda Elata-Alster writes in response to my column on “shtick,” which spoke of Yiddish words in American English sometimes taking on — or, as I put it, “intermarrying with” — non-Jewish meanings:

“Many Yiddish words have been integrated into Dutch, too, although I can’t remember any ‘intermarriages.’ Unfortunately, many of these words are related to the world of petty crime or money, such as ganov, thief; bayis, prison, and meyer, a hundred guilden [from the Hebrew words ganav, “thief”; bayit, “house,” and me’ah, “hundred”]. But there is also Mokum [from Hebrew makom, “place”], referring to Amsterdam, sometimes also called Mokum Olef.”

Read more: http://forward.com/culture/140080/doubling-dutch/