Yarmulka

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small, rounded cap worn on the head as a sign of Jewish faith and respect in religious contexts
2. A close-fitting cap traditionally worn by Jewish men during prayers or religious ceremonies to show reverence
3. A head covering used in Judaism, often worn by males to indicate piety and adherence to tradition

Etymology: The cap's name travelled a long way before reaching English. Yiddish speakers borrowed it as "yarmlke" from Polish "jarmułka", meaning "skullcap", and the Polish word itself came from a Turkic source. Turkish offers a close relative in "yağmurluk", which means "rain apparel", a hint that the root sense concerned covering or protecting something, though the exact Turkic ancestor is not firmly traced. The journey reflects the movement of Jewish and Eastern European communities, where Yiddish was the everyday language and Polish was a neighbouring tongue. The Turkic element entered Polish long before the cap became a common sight in English-speaking countries, so the word arrived through several languages rather than one. Its form in English is therefore a Yiddish form, not a Hebrew or Polish one.