"dreidel" meaning in English

See dreidel in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈdɹeɪdl̩/ [General-American, Received-Pronunciation] Audio: En-us-dreidel.oga Forms: dreidels [plural]
Rhymes: -eɪdəl Etymology: Borrowed from Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), probably a blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”). דרייען (dreyen) is derived from Middle High German dræn, from Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”); and טרענדל (trendl) is derived from Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), from Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”). Etymology templates: {{noncog|yi|נישט|t=not}} Yiddish נישט (nisht, “not”), {{m-g|nothing}} “nothing”, {{root|en|ine-pro|*terh₁-}}, {{bor|en|yi|דריידל|t=dreidel; spinning top}} Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), {{blend|yi|דרייען|טרענדל|nocap=1|nocat=1|t1=to spin; to turn; to twist|t2=(dated) dreidel; spinning top}} blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”), {{der|en|gmh|dræn}} Middle High German dræn, {{der|en|goh|drāen|t=to turn; to twist}} Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), {{der|en|gmw-pro|*þrāan}} Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, {{der|en|gem-pro|*þrēaną|t=to turn; to twist}} Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), {{der|en|ine-pro|*terh₁-|t=to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce}} Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”), {{der|en|gmh|trendel|t=spinning top}} Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), {{der|en|gem-pro|*trandijaną|t=to revolve, spin}} Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} dreidel (plural dreidels)
  1. A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Categories (topical): Judaism Translations (four-sided spinning top): 光明節陀螺 (Chinese Mandarin), 光明节陀螺 (guāngmíngjié tuóluó) (Chinese Mandarin), hyrrä (Finnish), dreydel (French), sevivon (French), Dreidel [masculine] (German), סְבִיבוֹן (s'vivón) [masculine] (Hebrew), trenderli (Hungarian), dreidel (Italian), sevivon (Italian), drejdel [masculine] (Polish), dreidel (Portuguese), дрейдл (drejdl) (Russian), dreidel (Spanish), dreidel (Swedish), dreidl [masculine] (Welsh), דריידל (dreydl) (Yiddish)
    Sense id: en-dreidel-en-noun-bjYE5CHO Disambiguation of Judaism: 78 22 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hebrew translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Welsh translations, Terms with Yiddish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 55 45 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 51 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 66 34 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 58 42 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 57 43 Disambiguation of Terms with Hebrew translations: 87 13 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 66 34 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 58 42 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 65 35 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 65 35 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 67 33 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 55 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 56 44 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 66 34 Disambiguation of Terms with Welsh translations: 55 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Yiddish translations: 78 22 Disambiguation of 'four-sided spinning top': 90 10
  2. A gambling game played using this top. Categories (topical): Toys
    Sense id: en-dreidel-en-noun-EfMvd7sX Disambiguation of Toys: 39 61 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 2 entries, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Welsh translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 55 45 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 51 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 55 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Welsh translations: 55 45
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: draydel, dreydel, draydl, dreidl, dreydl, dreidle, dreydle Related terms: teetotum

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "נישט",
        "t": "not"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish נישט (nisht, “not”)",
      "name": "noncog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nothing"
      },
      "expansion": "“nothing”",
      "name": "m-g"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*terh₁-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yi",
        "3": "דריידל",
        "t": "dreidel; spinning top"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”)",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "דרייען",
        "3": "טרענדל",
        "nocap": "1",
        "nocat": "1",
        "t1": "to spin; to turn; to twist",
        "t2": "(dated) dreidel; spinning top"
      },
      "expansion": "blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”)",
      "name": "blend"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "dræn"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German dræn",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "drāen",
        "t": "to turn; to twist"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*þrāan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *þrāan",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*þrēaną",
        "t": "to turn; to twist"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*terh₁-",
        "t": "to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "trendel",
        "t": "spinning top"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*trandijaną",
        "t": "to revolve, spin"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), probably a blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”). דרייען (dreyen) is derived from Middle High German dræn, from Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”); and טרענדל (trendl) is derived from Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), from Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dreidels",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "dreidel (plural dreidels)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "drei‧del"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "teetotum"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "66 34",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "58 42",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "57 43",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "87 13",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hebrew translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "66 34",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "58 42",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "65 35",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "65 35",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "67 33",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "56 44",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "66 34",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Welsh translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Yiddish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Judaism",
          "orig": "en:Judaism",
          "parents": [
            "Abrahamism",
            "Religion",
            "Culture",
            "Society",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1927, “I Have a Little Dreidel”, Samuel S. Grossman (lyrics), Samuel Eliezer Goldfarb or Mikhl Gelbart (music)",
          "text": "I have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay. / And when it's dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, then dreidel I shall play.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 December 23, Jonathan Safran Foer, “A Beginner's Guide to Hanukkah”, in The New York Times",
          "text": "The dreidel is a spinning toy, painstakingly fashioned out of plastic polymer by Jewish craftsmen in Vietnam. Used for tabletop gambling games during Hanukkah, the dreidel often ends up on the floor and sometimes in the dog's small intestine.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times, image caption",
          "text": "Students from the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah School danced in dreidel costumes at a menorah lighting in Detroit on Thursday.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah."
      ],
      "id": "en-dreidel-en-noun-bjYE5CHO",
      "links": [
        [
          "four",
          "four"
        ],
        [
          "sided",
          "side#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "spinning top",
          "spinning top"
        ],
        [
          "inscribe",
          "inscribe"
        ],
        [
          "Hebrew",
          "Hebrew#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "letters",
          "letter#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "נ",
          "נ#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "ג",
          "ג#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "ה",
          "ה#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "ש",
          "ש#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "פ",
          "פ#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "used",
          "use#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "play",
          "play#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "traditional",
          "traditional#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "game",
          "game#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "Jewish",
          "Jewish#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "festival",
          "festival"
        ],
        [
          "Hanukkah",
          "Hanukkah"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "光明節陀螺"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "guāngmíngjié tuóluó",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "光明节陀螺"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "hyrrä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "dreydel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "sevivon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Dreidel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "s'vivón",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "סְבִיבוֹן"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "trenderli"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "dreidel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "sevivon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "drejdel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "dreidel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "drejdl",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "дрейдл"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "dreidel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "dreidel"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "dreidl"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "90 10",
          "code": "yi",
          "lang": "Yiddish",
          "roman": "dreydl",
          "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
          "word": "דריידל"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 2 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Welsh translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "39 61",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Toys",
          "orig": "en:Toys",
          "parents": [
            "Recreation",
            "Human activity",
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2022 January 19, Yair Rosenberg, “Why So Many People Still Don’t Understand Anti-Semitism”, in The Atlantic",
          "text": "We do not spend our days huddled in smoke-filled rooms plotting world domination while Jared Kushner plays dreidel in the back with Noam Chomsky and George Soros sneaks the last latke.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A gambling game played using this top."
      ],
      "id": "en-dreidel-en-noun-EfMvd7sX",
      "links": [
        [
          "gambling",
          "gambling#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "top",
          "top#Noun"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɹeɪdl̩/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-dreidel.oga",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1d/En-us-dreidel.oga/En-us-dreidel.oga.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/En-us-dreidel.oga"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-eɪdəl"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "draydel"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "dreydel"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "draydl"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "dreidl"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "dreydl"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "dreidle"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "dreydle"
    }
  ],
  "word": "dreidel"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Yiddish",
    "English terms derived from Middle High German",
    "English terms derived from Old High German",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
    "English terms derived from Yiddish",
    "English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *terh₁-",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Rhymes:English/eɪdəl",
    "Rhymes:English/eɪdəl/2 syllables",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hebrew translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Welsh translations",
    "Terms with Yiddish translations",
    "en:Judaism",
    "en:Toys"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "נישט",
        "t": "not"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish נישט (nisht, “not”)",
      "name": "noncog"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nothing"
      },
      "expansion": "“nothing”",
      "name": "m-g"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*terh₁-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "yi",
        "3": "דריידל",
        "t": "dreidel; spinning top"
      },
      "expansion": "Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”)",
      "name": "bor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "yi",
        "2": "דרייען",
        "3": "טרענדל",
        "nocap": "1",
        "nocat": "1",
        "t1": "to spin; to turn; to twist",
        "t2": "(dated) dreidel; spinning top"
      },
      "expansion": "blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”)",
      "name": "blend"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "dræn"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German dræn",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "goh",
        "3": "drāen",
        "t": "to turn; to twist"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*þrāan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *þrāan",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*þrēaną",
        "t": "to turn; to twist"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*terh₁-",
        "t": "to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmh",
        "3": "trendel",
        "t": "spinning top"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*trandijaną",
        "t": "to revolve, spin"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), probably a blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”). דרייען (dreyen) is derived from Middle High German dræn, from Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”); and טרענדל (trendl) is derived from Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), from Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "dreidels",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "dreidel (plural dreidels)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "drei‧del"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "teetotum"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1927, “I Have a Little Dreidel”, Samuel S. Grossman (lyrics), Samuel Eliezer Goldfarb or Mikhl Gelbart (music)",
          "text": "I have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay. / And when it's dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, then dreidel I shall play.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 December 23, Jonathan Safran Foer, “A Beginner's Guide to Hanukkah”, in The New York Times",
          "text": "The dreidel is a spinning toy, painstakingly fashioned out of plastic polymer by Jewish craftsmen in Vietnam. Used for tabletop gambling games during Hanukkah, the dreidel often ends up on the floor and sometimes in the dog's small intestine.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times, image caption",
          "text": "Students from the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah School danced in dreidel costumes at a menorah lighting in Detroit on Thursday.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "four",
          "four"
        ],
        [
          "sided",
          "side#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "spinning top",
          "spinning top"
        ],
        [
          "inscribe",
          "inscribe"
        ],
        [
          "Hebrew",
          "Hebrew#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "letters",
          "letter#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "נ",
          "נ#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "ג",
          "ג#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "ה",
          "ה#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "ש",
          "ש#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "פ",
          "פ#Hebrew"
        ],
        [
          "used",
          "use#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "play",
          "play#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "traditional",
          "traditional#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "game",
          "game#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "Jewish",
          "Jewish#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "festival",
          "festival"
        ],
        [
          "Hanukkah",
          "Hanukkah"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2022 January 19, Yair Rosenberg, “Why So Many People Still Don’t Understand Anti-Semitism”, in The Atlantic",
          "text": "We do not spend our days huddled in smoke-filled rooms plotting world domination while Jared Kushner plays dreidel in the back with Noam Chomsky and George Soros sneaks the last latke.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A gambling game played using this top."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "gambling",
          "gambling#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "top",
          "top#Noun"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈdɹeɪdl̩/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American",
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-dreidel.oga",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1d/En-us-dreidel.oga/En-us-dreidel.oga.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/En-us-dreidel.oga"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-eɪdəl"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "draydel"
    },
    {
      "word": "dreydel"
    },
    {
      "word": "draydl"
    },
    {
      "word": "dreidl"
    },
    {
      "word": "dreydl"
    },
    {
      "word": "dreidle"
    },
    {
      "word": "dreydle"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "光明節陀螺"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "guāngmíngjié tuóluó",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "光明节陀螺"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "hyrrä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "dreydel"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "sevivon"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Dreidel"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "s'vivón",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "סְבִיבוֹן"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "trenderli"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "dreidel"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "sevivon"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "drejdel"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "dreidel"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "drejdl",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "дрейдл"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "dreidel"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "dreidel"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "dreidl"
    },
    {
      "code": "yi",
      "lang": "Yiddish",
      "roman": "dreydl",
      "sense": "four-sided spinning top",
      "word": "דריידל"
    }
  ],
  "word": "dreidel"
}

Download raw JSONL data for dreidel meaning in English (8.4kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-09-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-08-20 using wiktextract (8e41825 and f99c758). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.