Standard Lemma guide

shtetl

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • shtĕt'(ə)l
  • /ˈʃtɛt(ə)l/
  • rhymes with -ɛt(ə)l
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A Jewish village or small town, especially one in Eastern Europe.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Yiddish שטעטל (shtetl, “small town, village”), from שטאָט (shtot, “city”) + ־ל (-l, “diminutive suffix”) (compare German Städtl, Swabian Städtele), from Old High German stat, from Proto-West Germanic *stadi, from Proto-Germanic *stadiz, from Proto-Indo-European *stéh2tis. Doublet of stead.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: štetl — a Jewish village or small town
  • French: shtetl — a Jewish village or small town
  • French: schtetl — a Jewish village or small town
  • French: chtetl — a Jewish village or small town
  • German: Schtetl — a Jewish village or small town
  • German: Stetl — a Jewish village or small town
  • Swabian: Städtele — a Jewish village or small town
  • Hungarian: stetl — a Jewish village or small town
  • Polish: sztetl — a Jewish village or small town
  • Russian: месте́чко (mestéčko) — a Jewish village or small town
  • Russian: штетл (štɛtl) — a Jewish village or small town
  • Russian: городо́к (gorodók) — a Jewish village or small town
  • Russian: городи́шко (gorodíško) — a Jewish village or small town
  • Yiddish: שטעטל (shtetl) — a Jewish village or small town