Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A triangular pastry with a filling such as preserves or poppy seeds, traditionally served in Jewish communities around Purim.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A traditional Ashkenazi three-cornered cookie eaten during the Jewish holiday of Purim. The filling may be made from variously from poppy seeds, prunes, nuts, dates, apricots, fruit preserves, chocolate, caramel, or cheese.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Yiddish homentash, probably alteration (influenced by post-Biblical Hebrew ’oznê Hāmān, hamantaschen, literally “Haman's ears”) of a Yiddish word akin to German Mohntasche, poppy-seed pastry : Mohn, poppy (from Middle High German māhen, from Old High German; akin to Greek mēkōn), Tasche, pocket, pouch (from Middle High German, from Old High German tasca, of unknown origin).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Yiddish המן־טאַש (haman-tash)

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word hamantasch.

Examples

  • "The Great Latke Hamantash Debate" (2006) is a collection of "scholarly" presentations on behalf of the latke, the potato pancake traditionally served during Hanukkah, and the hamantasch, the triangular filled sweet pastry associated with Purim.

    unknown title 2009

  • The Great Latke Hamantash Debate (2006) is a collection of "scholarly" presentations on behalf of the latke, the potato pancake traditionally served during Hanukkah, and the hamantasch, the triangular filled sweet pastry associated with Purim.

    The Chicago Blog 2009

  • The Great Latke Hamantash Debate (2006) is a collection of "scholarly" presentations on behalf of the latke, the potato pancake traditionally served during Hanukkah, and the hamantasch, the triangular filled sweet pastry associated with Purim.

    The Chicago Blog 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.