Word Prompt – SHTREIMEL – David Curwin

There are a number of theories as to the origin of the word shtreimel.

One etymology is connected to a possible origin of the custom of wearing the shtreimel. As S.Y. Agnon describes in “Mitsnefet HaShabbat,” the Jews were forced to wear the shtreimel, made of animal tails, as a way of humiliating them. Following this, this theory connects “shtreimel” to the Polish “srom” or the Russian “sorom,” meaning “shame.” These Slavic words are distant cousins of the English word “harm.”

A second theory says that shtreimel comes from the German (and Yiddish) “streim” meaning “stripe” or “strip.” The suffix “-el” was added as a diminutive. Perhaps this refers to the stripes found in the fur used. This German word is cognate with English words like “strike,” “stroke,” and “streak” – the latter of which still refers to a line of different color, particularly in hair.

The third etymology claims that shtreimel comes from the German “stroh” meaning “straw.” This theory is based on the similarity between the hairs of the shtreimel and the stalks of straw.

Another possibility is that shtreimel is related to the Polish word “stroj” meaning “uniform, clothes.” Maybe it meant the “uniform” of those Jews wearing it, or perhaps it also had a specific association with head coverings.

Last, there is a theory that shtreimel derives from a compound of two words meaning “thick hair.” In many European languages, a root similar to “stro” or “stor” means “thick” or “big.” And just as “mane” in English refers to animal hair, it also has cognates in other languages. Perhaps “stro”+”man” and the diminutive “-kel” meant “thick mane” and eventually became shtreimel.