schmuck

Meaning

Noun

• A jerk; a person who is unlikable, detestable, or contemptible because he or she is stupid, foolish, clumsy, oafish, inept, malicious, or unpleasant.
• A deplorable, pitiful person; often in the form poor schmuck.

Origin

• From Yiddish שמאָק ("penis, foreskin, fool"). Further origin uncertain. Probably from Old Polish smok ("dragon"), akin to Bulgarian смок. Perhaps akin to onomatopoeic Russian смоктать smoktat ("to suck") according to old belief that snakes suck milk from animals. Alternatively a baby-talk corruption of Yiddish שמעקל, a dissimilated form of שטעקל. Alternatively from the verb Middle High German smucken, archaic German schmucken, which has several meanings allowing possible semantic connections: 1.) “to squeeze, press, fit into something tight”; 2.) “to hug, snuggle, kiss”; 3.) “to adorn, decorate”. The last of these three senses is perhaps less likely, but compare German Schmuck ("jewellery") with English crown jewels.