יענטע
יענטל
'Yentl (woman's name); a talkative, gossipy woman'
{pejorative}
The name had acquired negative associations by the twentieth century. {מאַקס ווײַנרײַך, געשיכטע פֿון דער ייִדישער שפּראַך, 2: 73}

ETYMOLOGY

Max Weinreich argues that יענטע is a back-formation from the יענטל, which is not a diminutive, but actually comes from Italian gentile 'well-born.' Beider argues that each name came independently from a different Old French etymon: gentille 'noble' and gente 'beautiful'. He proposes that the names were adopted before the eleventh century, while Old French still preserved an initial /g/ (not yet /dž/). The /g/ was then shifted to /j/ among the Ashkenazim under the influence of surrounding German dialects. In fact, the names could have been borrowed later the eleventh century since Old French /dž/ was adopted in MHG as /j/ (e.g., justieren 'to joust').

WESTERN

Oyberland (West Transcarpathian)

jɛntl̩ʲ {WTCP, Dunajská Streda, 47179}

CENTRAL

AUDIO Miriam Hoffman {parents from Łódź, POLAND} 25 August 2018
jentl̩

NORTHEASTERN

Diselbe Jente, nor andersch farschlejert. {Grajewo, Olsvanger 1931}