Date:  Thu, 30 Oct 1997 07:03:29 -0500
From:  RABINRL[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BUFFALOSTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: ADS-L Digest - 28 Oct 1997 to 29 Oct 1997

Subject: The word Yid
From: "Ron Rabin" <rabinrl[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]buffalostate.edu>
>From my experience, the word Yid remains totally uncontaminated for
Jews by its use elsewhere as a epithet. The word Yid in Yiddish means
Jew, and in general discussion means "man" (generic) or "one," e.g.,
a man's lot in life, one does not cross the road so quickly. The word
has always meant Jew, just as Yiddish means Jewish (and is also the
name of the language).
Leo Roston's _The Joy of Yiddish_ is no great linguistic source. There
are so many pronunciation variations among Yiddish speakers that it just
cannot be said that a particular difference (Yid rhymes with "deed" or
"did" having different connotations) is generally meaningful.