Zak - זאק
Zak - זאק \ZAK\ Noun \ Masculine \ Pl. Zek:
A sack, bag.
Pronunciation: Click here to hear a native Yiddish speaker use this word in conversation.
Synonyms: baytl (בייטל), sakve (סאקווע), tash (טאש), torbe (טארבע).
German equivalents: der Beutel, die Entlassung, der Koffer, die Plünderung, der Rausschmiss, der Sack, die Tasche.
Etymology: The word derives from Middle High German “sac,” from Old High German “sac,” itself from Proto-Germanic *sakkiz (sack). The Germanic root, in turn, goes back to Latin “saccus” (large bag), from Ancient Greek sákkos (bag of course cloth), which - and here’s the kicker - actually has Semitic origins: Hebrew sak (שק), Akkadian shaqqu, Ethiopic shaqq, etc. And if you want to reach even further, you’ll get to Ancient Egyptian saq (waistband). (Kluge tells us that “the Lat. word seems to have been introduced into G., through commercial intercourse with Roman merchants.”)
In any event, cognates include: Afrikaans “sak,” Danish “sæk,” Dutch “zak,”Faroese “sekkur,” Finnish “säkki,” French “sac,” Gothic sakkus, Hungarian “zsák,”Italian “sacco,” Middle English “sak,” Modern English “sac, sack,” New High German “der Sack,” Old English “sacc, sæcc,” Old Irish “sac,” Old Norse “sekkr,”Portuguese “saco,” Romanian “sac,” Sicilian “saccu,” Spanish “saco,” Swedish “säck,” and Welsh “sach.”
In any event, cognates include: Afrikaans “sak,” Danish “sæk,” Dutch “zak,”Faroese “sekkur,” Finnish “säkki,” French “sac,” Gothic sakkus, Hungarian “zsák,”Italian “sacco,” Middle English “sak,” Modern English “sac, sack,” New High German “der Sack,” Old English “sacc, sæcc,” Old Irish “sac,” Old Norse “sekkr,”Portuguese “saco,” Romanian “sac,” Sicilian “saccu,” Spanish “saco,” Swedish “säck,” and Welsh “sach.”
Derivatives of zak: ployderzak (פלוידערזאק) - a gossip (lit. a bag of chatter); rukzak(רוקזאק) - a backpack, rucksack; tfiln-zekl (תפילין-זעקל) - a bag for tefillin(phylacteries); trern-zekl (טרערן-זעקל) - a tear duct; zaklayvnt (זאקלייוונט) - sackcloth;zakroyb (זאקרויב) - booty, loot; zekl (זעקל) - a pouch, base (in baseball).
Phrases with zak: araynfaln vi fonye in a zak borsht (אריינפאלן ווי פאניע אין א זאק בארשט) - to have great luck (lit., to fall like a Russian [falls] into a sack of borscht [which he would love, knowing Russians; incidentally, I don’t know how you can have a sack of borscht, since it’s a liquid, but that’s the expression]); aroyslozn di kats fun zak (ארויסלאזן די קאץ פון זאק) - to let the cat out of the bag;farfaln vi a nodl in a zak hey (פארפאלן ווי א נאדל אין א זאק היי) - to have bad luck (lit., to fall like a nail [falls] into a sack of hay [where it will get lost]); koyfn a kats in a zak (קויפן א קאץ אין א זאק) - to buy a pig in a poke, be fooled (lit., to buy a cat in a sack);onton a zak oyf di lendn (אנטאן א זאק אויף די לענדן) - to repent (lit., to gird one’s loins in sackcloth); raysn zikh vi tsvey kets in eyn zak (רייסן זיך ווי צוויי קעץ אין איין זאק) - to tear at one another like two cats in one sack; shitn vi fun a lekherdikn zak (שיטן ווי פון א לעכערדיקן זאק) - (of someone’s speech) to pour as from a sack with a hole in it; oyern vi zek (אויערן ווי זעק) - large, doglike ears (lit., ears like sacks); dos zekl mitn pekl (דאס זעקל מיטן פעקל) - everything (lit., the sack with the pack).
Expressions with zak:
1. A mentsh vert mit keyn zak nisht geboyrn (א מענטש ווערט מיט קיין זאק נישט געבוירן) - A person is not born with sackcloth on (i.e. his fate is not predetermined).
2. Gelt halt zikh nor in a grobn zak (געלט האלט זיך נאר אין א גראבן זאק) - Money only stays secure in a hefty sack (i.e. only the rich keep their wealth). Similarly, A fuler zak shteyt fest (א פולער זאק שטייט פעסט) - A full sack stands tight.
3. An oreman iz vi a lekherdiker zak (אן ארעמאן איז ווי א לעכערדיקער זאק) - A pauper is like a sack with many holes (he’s so famished that anything you give him will only make a small dent in his hunger). And again, as we all know, A lekherdikn zak ken men nisht onshtopn (א לעכערדיקן זאק קען מען נישט אפשטאפן) - You cannot stop up a sack with many holes.
4. Glik on seykhl iz a lekherdiker zak (גליק אן שכל איז א לעכערדיקער זאק) - Luck without sense is a sack with many holes.
5. A nol/nodl ken men in keyn zak nisht bahaltn (א נאל/נאדל קען מען אין קיין זאק נישט באהאלטן) - The cat will get out of the bag (lit., You cannot hide an awl/needle in a sack). Similarly, A nol ken men in zak nisht farborgn - der shpits kumt aroys haynt oder morgn (א נאל קען מען אין זאק נישט פארבארגן) - You cannot hide an awl in a sack - the point will poke through today or tomorrow.
6. S’iz laykhter tsu hitn a zak fley eyder a farlibte meydl (ס’איז לייכטער צו היטן א זאק פליי איידער א פארליבטער מיידל) - It’s easier to guard a sack of fleas than a girl in love.
7. A shviger un a shnur in eyn hoyz zaynen vi tsvey kets in eyn zak (א שוויגער און א שנור אין איין הויז זיינען ווי צוויי קעץ אין איין זאק) - A mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law in one house are like two cats in one sack. And, as we all know,Tsvey kets in eyn zak kenen keyn sholem nisht hobn (צוויי קעץ אין איין זאק קענען קיין שלום נישט האבן) - No house can hold two wits (lit., Two cats in one sack cannot have peace).
8. Nokh a yontef, blaybt men mit dray zakhn: a beyzn haldz, a leydike keshene, un a fuln zak mit brudike vesh (נאך א יום-טוב, בלייבט מען מיט דריי זאכן: א בייזן האלדז, א ליידיקע קעשענע, און א פולן זאק מיט ברודיקע וועש) - After a holiday, you are left with three things: an angry (sore) throat [because of all the extra praying you do], an empty pocket [because of all the extra spending you do to prepare], and a sack full of soiled clothing [because of the rabbinic injunction against doing the laundry during the intermediate days of the holiday; see bMo’ed Katan 14a].
9. Er vet nisht avekgebn far im keyn zak tsibeles (ער וועט נישט אוועקגעבן פאר אים קיין זאק ציבעלעס) - He wouldn’t give away a sack of onions for him (a statement of the relational distance between two people; see the YWOTW edition of tsibele for more on how cheap onions were in Eastern European Jewish markets and minds).
Zak in Jewish onomastics: According to Weinreich, the surname Zak, and presumably its derivatives, like Sacks, actually have nothing to do with the meaning “sack.” Rather, they come from the Hebrew abbreviation ז”ק, which stood for zera kedoshim (זרע קדושים) - the children of saints. Sounds pretty good to me…
1. A mentsh vert mit keyn zak nisht geboyrn (א מענטש ווערט מיט קיין זאק נישט געבוירן) - A person is not born with sackcloth on (i.e. his fate is not predetermined).
2. Gelt halt zikh nor in a grobn zak (געלט האלט זיך נאר אין א גראבן זאק) - Money only stays secure in a hefty sack (i.e. only the rich keep their wealth). Similarly, A fuler zak shteyt fest (א פולער זאק שטייט פעסט) - A full sack stands tight.
3. An oreman iz vi a lekherdiker zak (אן ארעמאן איז ווי א לעכערדיקער זאק) - A pauper is like a sack with many holes (he’s so famished that anything you give him will only make a small dent in his hunger). And again, as we all know, A lekherdikn zak ken men nisht onshtopn (א לעכערדיקן זאק קען מען נישט אפשטאפן) - You cannot stop up a sack with many holes.
4. Glik on seykhl iz a lekherdiker zak (גליק אן שכל איז א לעכערדיקער זאק) - Luck without sense is a sack with many holes.
5. A nol/nodl ken men in keyn zak nisht bahaltn (א נאל/נאדל קען מען אין קיין זאק נישט באהאלטן) - The cat will get out of the bag (lit., You cannot hide an awl/needle in a sack). Similarly, A nol ken men in zak nisht farborgn - der shpits kumt aroys haynt oder morgn (א נאל קען מען אין זאק נישט פארבארגן) - You cannot hide an awl in a sack - the point will poke through today or tomorrow.
6. S’iz laykhter tsu hitn a zak fley eyder a farlibte meydl (ס’איז לייכטער צו היטן א זאק פליי איידער א פארליבטער מיידל) - It’s easier to guard a sack of fleas than a girl in love.
7. A shviger un a shnur in eyn hoyz zaynen vi tsvey kets in eyn zak (א שוויגער און א שנור אין איין הויז זיינען ווי צוויי קעץ אין איין זאק) - A mother-in-law and a daughter-in-law in one house are like two cats in one sack. And, as we all know,Tsvey kets in eyn zak kenen keyn sholem nisht hobn (צוויי קעץ אין איין זאק קענען קיין שלום נישט האבן) - No house can hold two wits (lit., Two cats in one sack cannot have peace).
8. Nokh a yontef, blaybt men mit dray zakhn: a beyzn haldz, a leydike keshene, un a fuln zak mit brudike vesh (נאך א יום-טוב, בלייבט מען מיט דריי זאכן: א בייזן האלדז, א ליידיקע קעשענע, און א פולן זאק מיט ברודיקע וועש) - After a holiday, you are left with three things: an angry (sore) throat [because of all the extra praying you do], an empty pocket [because of all the extra spending you do to prepare], and a sack full of soiled clothing [because of the rabbinic injunction against doing the laundry during the intermediate days of the holiday; see bMo’ed Katan 14a].
9. Er vet nisht avekgebn far im keyn zak tsibeles (ער וועט נישט אוועקגעבן פאר אים קיין זאק ציבעלעס) - He wouldn’t give away a sack of onions for him (a statement of the relational distance between two people; see the YWOTW edition of tsibele for more on how cheap onions were in Eastern European Jewish markets and minds).
Zak in Jewish onomastics: According to Weinreich, the surname Zak, and presumably its derivatives, like Sacks, actually have nothing to do with the meaning “sack.” Rather, they come from the Hebrew abbreviation ז”ק, which stood for zera kedoshim (זרע קדושים) - the children of saints. Sounds pretty good to me…
Zak in a sentence: Ikh farshtey nisht farvos, ober a sakh Khsidim trogn zeyere talis-un-tfiln zekelekh durkh di gasn dem gantsn tog (איך פארשטיי נישט פארוואס, אבער א סך חסידים טראגן זייערע טלית-און-תפילין זעקעלעך דורך די גאסן דעם גאנצן טאג) - I don’t understand why, but many Hasidim carry their tallit (ritual prayer shawl)-and-tefillinbags in the streets throughout the day.
Use zak in your own sentence today!
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