Mokum

This article is about the Yiddish word. For the music label, see Mokum Records.

City	Yiddish	Translation
Alkmaar	Mokum Aye	-
Amsterdam	Mokum Alef	City A
Berlin	Mokum Beis	City B
Delft	Mokum Dollet	City D
Rotterdam	Mokum Resh	City R
Winschoten	Mokum van het Noorden	City of the North

Mokum (מקום) is the Yiddish word for "place" or "safe haven".^[1] It is similar to the Hebrew word makom (מקום, "place"), from which it is derived.^[2] In Yiddish the names of some cities in the Netherlands and Germany were shortened to Mokum and had the first letter of the name of the city, transliterated into the Hebrew alphabet, added to them. Cities named this way were Amsterdam, Berlin, Delft, and Rotterdam.^[3]

Mokum, without Aleph, is still used as a nickname for Amsterdam. The nickname was first considered to be Bargoens, a form of Dutch slang, but in the 20th century it lost its negative sound and is now used as a nickname for Amsterdam in a sentimental context.^[4]

References

1. ^ Yiddish Dictionary Online
2. ^ Milon
3. ^ Martens, Hadewych (2006-09-26). "Jiddisch, ontstaan en etymologie". www.ety.nl. http://www.ety.nl/jiddisch.html. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
4. ^ Berns, Jan; Daan, Jo (1992) (in Dutch). Hij zeit wat. De Amsterdamse volkstaal. The Hague: BZZTôH. p. 66. ISBN 90-629-756-9.