Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dreidel

/ˈdɹeɪdl̩/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.89 in modern English

Syllables: drei-del
IPA: /ˈdɹeɪdl̩/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

noun

A gambling game played using this top.

Example Sentences

"I have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay. / And when it's dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, then dreidel I shall play."
"The dreidel is a spinning toy, painstakingly fashioned out of plastic polymer by Jewish craftsmen in Vietnam. Used for tabletop gambling games during Hanukkah, the dreidel often ends up on the floor and sometimes in the dog's small intestine."
"Erickson shared images on CNN iReport that show mixed holiday decorations in their Falmouth, Massachusetts, home, from a menorah and advent calendar to stockings bearing the phrase “shalom” and plates decorated with dreidels on a red plaid table cloth. […] Like the Kopelmans, they have a Christmas tree with dreidel ornaments and a menorah, which they light each night."
"Students from the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah School danced in dreidel costumes at a menorah lighting in Detroit on Thursday."
"We do not spend our days huddled in smoke-filled rooms plotting world domination while Jared Kushner plays dreidel in the back with Noam Chomsky and George Soros sneaks the last latke."

Etymology

Borrowed from Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), probably a blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”). דרייען (dreyen) is derived from Middle High German dræn, from Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”); and טרענדל (trendl) is derived from Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), from Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”).

Origin

Source language: Yiddish

Word Breakdown

Root: *terh₁-, דריידל, dræn, drāen, *þrāan, *þrēaną

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈdɹeɪdl̩/
British English: /ˈdɹeɪdl̩/

Inflected Forms

dreidels (plural) draydel (alternative) dreydel (alternative) draydl (alternative) dreidl (alternative) dreydl (alternative) dreidle (alternative) dreydle (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

teetotum

Synonyms

s'vivon

Rhymes With

cradle ladle hadal

Questions

How do you pronounce dreidel?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɹeɪdl̩/.
What does dreidel mean?: A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
Where does dreidel come from?: It is traced to Yiddish.

How to pronounce dreidel

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dreidel”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdɹeɪdl̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “dreidel”.
Repeat and practice — Say “dreidel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.