knish

Where does the word "knish" come from? It comes from Russian knysh, passing through Yiddish before entering English (1900s).

Knish’s story begins in Russian: knysh meant “a kind of cake.” A kind of filled cake or pastry. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Yiddish as knish. Jewish immigrants brought knishes to New York's Lower East Side; Yonah Schimmel's bakery dates from 1910. It reached English by 1900s as knish. Brought to New York by Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants. Today, knish means a baked or fried dumpling filled with potato, meat, or cheese.

1. Stage 1 · Russian · medieval knysh "a kind of cake", a kind of filled cake or pastry.
2. Stage 2 · Yiddish · medieval knish "a filled dough pastry", Jewish immigrants brought knishes to New York's Lower East Side; Yonah Schimmel's bakery dates from 1910.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1900s knish "a baked or fried dumpling with a savory filling", brought to New York by Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants.