Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A toy similar to a spinning top used in games of chance played by children and adults at Hanukkah.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun a toy shaped somewhat like a top, but having four flat sides, each marked with one of the Hebrew letters
nun ,gimel ,he , orshin . It is spun like a top, and the letter showing when it stops spinning determines the outcome of a game of chance. - noun a game of chance played with a dreidel{1}, most commonly by children at Hannukah.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A four-sided spinning
top , a symbol ofJudaism used atHanukkah .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Greg Berger designed the background and the dreidel is a picture of an actual one that was purchased in Jerusalem, taken by Elise Moore.
Since we were all so worried about being forced to use Xmas stamps… | Jewschool 2006
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But the best-known game involves a four-sided top called a dreidel, patterned after an old German game.
Swell Holiday Cynthia Rowley 2003
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But the best-known game involves a four-sided top called a dreidel, patterned after an old German game.
Swell Holiday Cynthia Rowley 2003
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But the best-known game involves a four-sided top called a dreidel, patterned after an old German game.
Swell Holiday Cynthia Rowley 2003
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Playing with the dreidel is a traditional Hanukkah game played in Jewish homes all over the world, and rules may vary.
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A dreidel is a four sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side.
Queens Gazette 2009
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The dreidel is a four-sided spinning top, the favorite child's toy during Chanukah.
uncomfortably numb 2009
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A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top with a Hebrew letter on each side.
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Playing with the dreidel is a traditional Hanukkah game played in Jewish homes all over the world, and rules may vary.
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Playing with the dreidel is a traditional Hanukkah game played in Jewish homes all over the world, and rules may vary.
treeseed commented on the word dreidel
Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
noun
Etymology: Yiddish dreydl, from dreyen to turn, from Middle High German drǣjen, from Old High German dr�?en — more at throw
Date: 1916
1 : a 4-sided toy marked with Hebrew letters and spun like a top in a game of chance
2 : a children's game of chance played especially at Hanukkah with a dreidel
See teetotum
January 30, 2008