nebbish

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 24, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>nebbish</strong> &#149; \NEB-ish\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><em>Nebbish</em> refers to a timid, meek, or ineffectual person.</p> <p>// Considered a bit of a <em>nebbish</em> by her colleagues, she surprised everyone by speaking up boldly against the proposed changes at the meeting.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nebbish">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“[Actor, Paul] Rudd is outstanding, as he toys with his own likability in his performance. Initially, he uses his Paul Rudd charm to persuade Marty [Markowitz, character] and us, that ‘Dr. Ike’ is a good man whose goal is to help this poor <em>nebbish</em>. We all get swept up in his promise not to let people use Marty, and he lets his wife and his friends think he’s performing a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mitzvah">mitzvah</a> by bringing the introverted Marty out of his shell.” — Matthew Gilbert, <em>The Boston Globe</em>, 17 Jan. 2023 </p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>“It looks like Pa isn't anything like the nebbish Ma is always making him out to be.” Sounds like poor Pa got a bum rap, at least according to a 1951 book review that appeared in <em>The New York Times</em>. The unfortunate Pa unwittingly demonstrates much about the etymology of <em>nebbish</em>, which comes from the Yiddish word <em>nebekh</em>, meaning “poor” or “unfortunate.” In keeping with the term’s semantic timidity, its journey from Yiddish to English wasn’t accomplished in a single bold leap. In the earliest known English example of the word, it’s an adjective meaning “harmless or ineffectual.” That mid-19th century use was joined in the early 20th century by the noun we’re familiar with today. Along the way, <em>nebbish</em> has also been used