Mensch
/mɛnʃ/noun
A decent, honorable, or admirable person.
Did you know?In Yiddish, mensch comes through German from Middle High German mensche, and ultimately from the same root as English man, so it began as ‘human being’ before narrowing into praise.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*man-
“human being, person”
Old English
English
mann
“person, human being; later also male adult”
Middle High German
MHG
mensch
“human being, person”
Yiddish
Yiddish
mensch
“person; a decent, honorable person”
Modern English
English
mensch
“a person of integrity or decency”
Explore more surprising origins