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nebbish

 - 4 dictionary results

neb⋅bish

  [neb-ish]
Use nebbish in a Sentence
–noun Slang.
a pitifully ineffectual, luckless, and timid person.
Origin:
1890–95; < Yiddish nebekh poor, unfortunate, prob. < Slavic; cf. Czech nebohý poor; sp. with -sh perh. < Western Yiddish forms of the word

Related forms:
neb⋅bish⋅y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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neb·bish   (něb'ĭsh)   
n.  A person regarded as weak-willed or timid.

[Yiddish nebekh, poor, unfortunate, of Slavic origin; see bhag- in Indo-European roots.]
neb'bish·y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
neb(bish) [ˈnɛb(ɪʃ)]

  1. n.
    a dull person; a jerk. (From Yiddish.) : Taylor is such a nebbish. Why doesn't she just give up?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

nebbish 
1907, nebbich, from Yiddish, from a Slavic source akin to Czech neboh "poor, unfortunate," lit. "un-endowed."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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