19 Jun 05
Here in Israel I heard this word ["patzer"] a lot among chess players.
I suggest that a similar word exists in Yiddish ( European Jews language similar to German ) - by the way a lot of half affectionate- half offensive nicknames origin from Yiddish.
Of course I can be wrong and this word was just was brought by emigrants from Germany.
19 Jun 05
Originally posted by VovochkaI suspect (and maybe some student can correct me) that you're right in that it originates from Yiddish but I believe it spread from the Manhattan, New York, Jewish chess playing communities. Like kibitzer and a few other Yiddish words that have hit the mainstream language.
Here in Israel I heard this word ["patzer"] a lot among chess players.
I suggest that a similar word exists in Yiddish ( European Jews language similar to German ) - by the way a lot of half affectionate- half offensive nicknames origin from Yiddish.
Of course I can be wrong and this word was just was brought by emigrants from Germany.
Then, there's other languages that have enriched chess language like German and French and what else?
19 Jun 05
Originally posted by buffalobillIt does have a Yiddish ring to it, but according to my etymological dictionary, it probably originates from a regional Austrian word "Patzen" meaning "stain" (the reasoning is that a stain in writing is a fault, which lead to the verb "patzen" meaning "working faultily" ). But the origin seems to be somewhat obscure. A connection with "Batzen" is also suggested, but that doesn't seem to be Yiddish in origin either.
I suspect (and maybe some student can correct me) that you're right in that it originates from Yiddish but I believe it spread from the Manhattan, New York, Jewish chess playing communities.