chutzpah

Where does the word "chutzpah" come from? It comes from Hebrew hutspah, passing through Yiddish before entering English (1800s-1900s).

Chutzpah’s story begins in Hebrew: hutspah meant “insolence, audacity.” Meaning "insolence" or "audacity". By medieval, the word had taken hold in Yiddish as khutspe. Carried into everyday Yiddish speech. It reached English by 1800s-1900s as chutzpah. Leo Rosten's 'The Joys of Yiddish' (1968) popularized it with the example of a man who kills his parents and pleads for mercy as an orphan. Today, chutzpah means shameless audacity or boldness, sometimes admired.

1. Stage 1 · Hebrew · ancient hutspah "insolence, audacity", meaning "insolence" or "audacity".
2. Stage 2 · Yiddish · medieval khutspe "brazen audacity", carried into everyday Yiddish speech.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1800s-1900s chutzpah "shameless audacity or boldness", Leo Rosten's 'The Joys of Yiddish' (1968) popularized it with the example of a man who kills his parents and pleads for mercy as an orphan.