Derivation of the Word "Zhid" in Slavic Languages

[Jim Rader]

On the basis of personal knowledge, I can comment only on the part of
Mr. Bobyk's message concerning <kike>.

The etymology of <kike> cited by Mr. Bobyk appeared in _Webster's
Third New International_, published in 1961, and in several
subsequent Merriam-Webster desk dictionaries, including the 7th, 8th,
and 9th Collegiates (1965, 1973, and 1983).  For the Tenth
Collegiate, published in 1993, I changed the etymology to "origin
unknown."

The "kiki" hypothesis is (as far as I can tell) based on an article
by J.H.A. Lacher published in the March, 1926 issue of
_American Speech_ (v. 1, no. 6, p. 322).  The author, a non-linguist,
claims to have heard "kiki" applied opprobriously to Eastern European
Jews "about forty years ago" by a Jew "of German descent."   I know
of no other evidence for <kiki>.  Even if such a word existed, its
pronunciation would presumably be \kiki\, which if clipped would
yield \kik\, not \kaik\.  I also think that most Americans parse the
final element of Slavic-origin Ashkenazic surnames such as <Barofsky>
as <-ski>, not <-ki>.  In short, this etymology is too weak to be
recommended even with a "probably" or "perhaps."

A number of other etymologies have been proposed for <kike>, none of
them much more plausible than this one.  I believe the origin of the
word has yet to be elucidated.

Jim Rader
Etymology Editor
Merriam-Webster, Inc.

> Dorohi SEELangci!
>
>
> Lastly, I have a similar question the etymology of the word "kike", which
> I have seen used as a translation for the Russian word "zhid".  Specifically,
> I found the following entry in "Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary"
> which piqued my interest:
>
>   kike n. [prob. alter. of kiki, redupl. of -ki common ending of names of
>   Jews who lived in Slavic countries] (1904):  JEW -- usu. taken to be
>   offensive.
>
> Could anyone comment on the proposed derivation of the word suggested
> above?
>
> Lastly, I am a non-specialist, so if these questions are readily accessible
> in books, or are common knowledge, then please excuse my intruston.
>
> Duzhe Vam dyakuyu zazdalehid',
>
> -- Stepan Bobyk
>