A yarmulke is a traditional Jewish head covering worn by men during religious ceremonies or everyday life. It is a small, round cap that is typically made of cloth or crocheted. The spelling of "yarmulke" is derived from the Yiddish word "yarmulka," which means "skullcap." The word is transliterated from Hebrew, which uses the word "kippah" for the same type of head covering. The correct spelling of the word is "yarmulke." The pronunciation is yar-muhl-kuh, with the emphasis on the first syllable.

yarmulke

Borrowed from Yiddish יאַרמלקע‎ ( yarmlke ) , from Polish jarmułka ( “ skullcap ” ) or a Ukrainian cognate of the same. Possibly from the Turkish yağmurluk ( “ rainwear ” ) , though it could also be from Medieval Latin almutia ( “ hood, cowl ” ) (compare Latin amictus ( “ clothed, veiled ” ) ).

Pronunciation [ edit ]

• ( UK ) IPA (key) : /ˈjɑːməlkə/
• ( US ) IPA (key) : /ˈjɑ(ɹ)mə(l)kə/

Noun [ edit ]

yarmulke (plural yarmulkes)

A skullcap worn by religiousJewish males (especially during prayer). [from 1903] Synonyms: kippah , kappel , skullcap

1991 October 1, Richard Goldstein, “The New Anti-Semitism: A Geshrei”, in Village Voice ‎ [1] , page 33 :

And I always feel uncomfortable dur­ing the High Holy Days watching people in yarmulkes rushing through the streets, knowing they’ll be swaying and moaning something ancient and indecipherable, even to me.

But once Dr. Levenson, who works for the Indian Health Service and wears a colorful tapestry yarmulke, has alerted the tiny network, it almost seems as if we have stepped into Yiddishland.

Translations [ edit ]

• Arabic: قُبَّة ‎ f ( qubba ) , كِبَّة ‎ f ( kibba )
• Belarusian: ярмо́лка f ( jarmólka )
• Bulgarian: ермо́лка f ( ermólka )
• Chinese: Mandarin: 卡巴 ( kǎbā )
• Czech: kipa f , jarmulka f
• Esperanto: kipao
• Finnish: kipa(fi)
• French: kippa(fr) f
• German: Jarmulke(de) f
• Greek: σκούφος(el) m ( skoúfos )
• Hebrew: כִּפָּה ‎ (he) f ( kipá )
• Hungarian: kipa(hu) , jarmulke
• Indonesian: kippah
• Italian: kippah(it) f
• Japanese: キッパー ( kippā ) , キッパ ( kippa ) , ヤムルカ ( yamuruka )
• Korean: 키파 ( kipa ) , 야물커 ( yamulkeo )
• Macedonian: јармулка f ( jarmulka )
• Malay: kippah
• Persian: کیپا ‎ (fa) ( kipâ ) , یاماکا ‎ ( yâmâkâ )
• Polish: jarmułka(pl) f
• Portuguese: quipá(pt) m or f
• Russian: ермо́лка(ru) f ( jermólka ) , кипа́(ru) f ( kipá )
• Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: јарму̀лка f Roman: jarmùlka(sh) f
• Slovak: kipa f , jarmulka f
• Slovene: jarmulka f
• Spanish: kipá(es) f
• Swedish: kippa(sv) c
• Tagalog: kipa
• Turkish: kipa(tr) , kippa , yarmulke
• Ukrainian: ярму́лка(uk) f ( jarmúlka )
• Yiddish: יאַרמלקע ‎ f ( yarmlke )

References [ edit ]

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition (1997)
  
• “yarmulke”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged , Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

• English terms borrowed from Yiddish
• English terms derived from Yiddish
• English terms derived from Polish
• English terms derived from Ukrainian
• English terms derived from Turkish
• English terms derived from Medieval Latin
• English 3-syllable words
• English terms with IPA pronunciation
• English terms with audio links
• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English countable nouns
• English terms with quotations
• en:Headwear
• en:Judaism
• en:Religion

• Word of the day archive
• English entries with topic categories using raw markup
• Terms with redundant transliterations
• Terms with redundant transliterations/cmn

Yarmulke.

The esteemed ktschwarz, who is doing an admirable job of paying attention to OED updates, writes at Wordorigins:

Yarmulke was briefly mentioned in the old thread on 1903 words. It’s from Yiddish, which got it from Polish, but where did Polish get it? (Note that while the Jewish practice of wearing religious headgear is older, the association of the word yarmulke specifically with Jews is surprisingly recent, only since the 19th century.) […] That Turkish origin is repeated in many English dictionaries. It’s not unprecedented: in the 17th century the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had a border with the Ottoman Empire, fought a series of wars with it, and absorbed some Turkish words into Polish. However, in 2019 the OED revised yarmulke and decisively rejected the Turkish origin, choosing an origin from Latin instead. Here’s what they say:

Etymology: < Yiddish yarmolke, probably ultimately < post-classical Latin almucia, armutia hood, cape (see amice n.²), via Polish jamuɫka, jarmuɫka skullcap (mid 15th cent. in Old Polish as jaɫmurka, jeɫmunka, with an apparent extension by -ka, a Polish suffix forming nouns).
For borrowings of the Latin word into other languages, compare also mutch n. and perhaps mozetta n.

Compare Russian ermolka (1800 or earlier), Ukrainian jarmulka, jarmurka, Belarusian jarmolka, all in the sense ‘skullcap’, all probably < Polish.

An alternative suggestion, deriving the Polish and Yiddish words, via the East Slavonic languages (compare Old Russian emurluk′′ raincoat (1674)) < Ottoman Turkish yağmurlyk raincoat (see gambalocke n.), poses formal, semantic, and chronological problems.

Unfortunately, the OED doesn’t give sources (this is high on my list of things they should be doing for all difficult etymologies!), but Google found some publications in 2013 and 2015 by a Polish Turkologist and a Latinist that they were probably relying on. (If you sense David L. Gold’s hand in this, you are right: apparently he’d been trying for decades to get the attention of Polish scholars.) Some are in English and some in Polish; assuming DeepL has given me the gist of the Polish, the reasons for rejecting Turkish are:

• Chronological: Polish jaɫmurka in the sense ‘cap’ is attested from the mid-1400s, too early for significant Polish-Ottoman contact.
• Formal: The addition of j- at the beginning is consistent with other Polish borrowings from Latin, and the addition of the Polish noun-forming suffix -ka is also consistent with other Polish headgear names. However, in the 15th century the gh was still pronounced in Turkish (a voiced velar fricative), so if the word came from Turkish then the Poles would have represented that sound in writing, as, e.g., the Italians did when they first wrote down iogurt in the Latin alphabet. But there’s no trace of it in Polish.
• Semantic: The Latin word already meant ‘hood, cape’; a shift from ‘raincoat’ to ‘hat’ is not impossible, but there’s no evidence that the word ever meant that in Polish. […]

The bad news is, don’t expect to see this revision in any other dictionaries besides the OED and maybe Wiktionary; all the others are just going to keep copying the same old material, because they no longer have any staff to update it. (Well, maybe Merriam-Webster, if Jim Rader is still there; he’s discovered a few new etymologies in the not-too-distant past — everybody reading this site should buy Kory Stamper’s Word by Word and read the cool story about the strange origin of chaus in a misspelling! However, I don’t expect them to keep up with the literature at this level of detail.) If this had come out ten years earlier, I’m sure American Heritage would have updated it, but, well, too late now.

I would never have expected to see Latin supplying an etymon for this word!

yarmulke

From Yiddish יאַרמלקע (yarmlke), from the Polish jarmułka ("skullcap"). This is probably from the Turkish yağmurluk ("rainwear"). The term is known from 1903.

" The pronunciation is yar-muhl-kuh, with the emphasis on the first syllable. Sometimes, you might see the word spelled as "yarmulka" or "yamulke," but these are less common and considered less standard spellings. The yarmulke is typically worn by men as a sign of reverence and a constant reminder of God's presence above them.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word yarmulke.

It is often worn during prayer, synagogue services, and other religious rituals. However, some men may choose to wear a yarmulke at all times as a symbol of their faith and cultural identity. The yarmulke holds great significance in Jewish tradition and is widely recognized as a symbol of Jewishness. The exact origins of wearing a head covering are not clear, but it is believed to have been a custom established in ancient times. It is mentioned in the Talmud, a central text of Jewish law and teachings. In addition to its religious significance, the yarmulke serves as a way for Jewish men to demonstrate their commitment to their faith and to distinguish themselves as Jews. It is also a symbol of unity within the Jewish community, as wearing a yarmulke shows solidarity and adherence to Jewish traditions and customs. In conclusion, the correct spelling of the word is "yarmulke." It is a traditional Jewish head covering worn by men. It holds great religious and cultural significance and is recognized as a symbol of Jewishness..

Reviews for "The cultural importance of correctly spelling yarmulke"

1. Sarah - 1 star - I found "How do you spell yarmulke" to be highly offensive and disrespectful towards Jewish culture. The humor felt shallow and lacking in wit, instead relying on harmful stereotypes and misconceptions. It is disappointing to see a book that perpetuates ignorance and reinforces harmful prejudices. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

2. Michael - 2 stars - As a person who is not affiliated with the Jewish faith, "How do you spell yarmulke" left me feeling confused and disconnected. The jokes and language used throughout the book seemed to be targeted towards a specific audience with prior knowledge and understanding of Jewish customs and traditions. It would have been helpful if there was more background information provided to help readers like myself engage with the content. Overall, I did not find it enjoyable or enlightening.

3. Rachel - 1 star - "How do you spell yarmulke" promotes cultural appropriation and insensitivity towards Jewish traditions. The author's attempt at humor falls flat, as it relies on outdated stereotypes and misrepresentations of Jewish culture. It feels disrespectful and offensive, and I would advise against wasting your time and money on this book. There are much better resources available for those interested in learning about Jewish traditions.

Yarmulke or kippah? The spelling debate