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Today it means

schlep

to carry or haul something with effort, or a tedious journey

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Where does the word "schlep" come from? It comes from Yiddish shlepn, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

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Where does the word "schlep" come from? It comes from Yiddish shlepn, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Schlep’s story begins in Yiddish: shlepn meant “to drag, haul.” Meaning "to drag" or "haul". It reached English by 1900s as schlep. Yiddish 'shlepn', to drag, from German 'schleppen'. Today, schlep means to carry or haul something with effort, or a tedious journey.

  1. Stage 1 · Yiddish · medieval shlepn "to drag, haul", meaning "to drag" or "haul".
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s schlep "to carry or haul with effort", Yiddish 'shlepn', to drag, from German 'schleppen'.

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