Word of the Day - Yenta

debodun

SF VIP

Location

way upstate in New York, USA

• Aug 3, 2025

• #1

Yenta (noun) - a person (usually female) who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others; gossip; busybody; meddler.

It seems every neighborhood has a yenta.

 

Pepper

SF VIP

Location

NYC

• Aug 3, 2025

• #2

I am not a yenta! Ok, I am.

 

DaveA

Senior Member

Location

Coastal Massachusetts, USA

• Aug 7, 2025

• #3

What the h**l is Yenta and is it a word from a different nationality than our plain "English" as spoken here in the U.S.? Don't think I've ever heard or seen it before?

 

DaveA

Senior Member

Location

Coastal Massachusetts, USA

• Aug 8, 2025

• #4

Sorry - - I posted with my reaction and didn't look it up. I see now it's a Yiddish word. Still never heard it or saw it in print but gossips, and/or meddlers, would have been familiar.

 

T

That Lady in PA

Senior Member

• Aug 9, 2025

• #5

I have heard 'yenta' all my life... and yes, every neighborhood has one (or several).

Words that were Yiddish, Italian, and various other languages floated around in everyday conversation as I was growing up.