Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A skullcap worn by Jewish men and boys, especially those adhering to Orthodox or Conservative Judaism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A skullcap worn by religious Jewish males (especially during prayer).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a skullcap worn by religious Jews (especially at prayer)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Yiddish, from Polish and Ukrainian yarmulka, possibly from Turkish yağmurluk, rain clothing, from yağmur, rain.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

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

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Examples

  • Leo Rosten claims that the word "yarmulke" comes from the Tatar word for skullcap.

    Rabbi Jason Miller: Kippah Your Head Covering Outta My Office Rabbi Jason Miller 2011

  • He always wore a kipa -- that is Hebrew; the Yiddish word is "yarmulke" -- the traditional Jewish head covering.

    post-gazette.com - News 2010

  • “Adam Beckerman,” Lord Havelock called, and a fair amount of boys nudged one another and whispered as Adam stepped forward with his chin held high and his small circular hat he’d told Henry on the train that this was called a yarmulke clearly visible.

    KNIGHTLEY ACADEMY VIOLET HABERDASHER 2010

  • “Adam Beckerman,” Lord Havelock called, and a fair amount of boys nudged one another and whispered as Adam stepped forward with his chin held high and his small circular hat he’d told Henry on the train that this was called a yarmulke clearly visible.

    KNIGHTLEY ACADEMY VIOLET HABERDASHER 2010

  • * Also commonly known as yarmulke (or variations thereof) and kapul.

    Menachem Kaiser: Why I (Sometimes) Don't Wear A Kipah* 2009

  • The NBA Cap -- like the NFL Cap as it was -- is a soft cap; a "yarmulke" that teams can maneuver around if willing to pay the tax.

    Andrew Brandt: Could LeBron's Power Play Happen in the NFL? 2010

  • There's all the typing, and sitting, and mouse-clicking, and more typing, and sometimes I even have to look up words like "yarmulke" in the dictionary.

    Archive 2009-04-01 Jen 2009

  • There's all the typing, and sitting, and mouse-clicking, and more typing, and sometimes I even have to look up words like "yarmulke" in the dictionary.

    Easter Wreck Round Up Jen 2009

  • HPFacebookVoteV2. init (246716, 'Why I (Sometimes) Don\'t Wear A Kipah*', '* Also commonly known as yarmulke (or variations thereof) and kapul.

    Menachem Kaiser: Why I (Sometimes) Don't Wear A Kipah* 2009

  • Saltzman is still wearing a yarmulke, which is appropriate to his religious beliefs, but which makes him look very foreign and strange to Anibal Gonzalez, who himself looks foreign and strange to a lot of people on the Cape, even though he’s an expert cabinetmaker.

    Alice in Jeopardy Ed McBain 2005

Comments

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  • Can't imagine those things keeping much rain off. Just saying.

    October 20, 2020