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kish·ke also kish·ka

(kĭshkə)

1. Beef or chicken intestine that is stuffed with a seasoned mixture of matzo meal or flour, onion, and suet and is prepared by boiling and roasting. Also called derma, stuffed derma.

2. also kishkes Informal The abdomen or guts: The ball hit me in the kishkes.

[Yiddish, from Russian kishka, intestine; see (s)keu- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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