oy gevalt

Like most Yiddish expressions, this is Mediaeval Low German. In Modern German it would be spelled "Ach! Gewalt!" Gewalt is a word that means strength or force, But in this context means "violence".

I see others referring to the Yiddish expression "oy vay zmir". Again, in Modern German, "Ach! Weh ist mir!", literally, "oh, woe is unto me!" In all 3 cases, the pronoun is in the Dative case, which usage has long since vanished in English, except in antique sayings such as this.

Oy gevalt

207👍 33👎