shtetl

noun

ˈshte-tᵊl 

ˈshtā-

variants or less commonly shtetel

plural shtetlach ˈshtet-ˌläḵ 

ˈshtāt-

also shtetels

: a small Jewish town or village formerly found in Eastern Europe

Examples of shtetl in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Informers in the shtetl were wicked, and Jews who prayed, studied, fasted, were honest, and gave to charity were considered righteous. —Isaac Bashevis Singer, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025

The banal village tunes that Mahler altered into sinister mock vulgarities—did these not recall the raffish klezmer bands, the wandering musicians who played at shtetl weddings? —David Denby, The Atlantic, 1 Apr. 2025

Foer’s novel, and its 2005 film adaptation, is about the Jewish author’s journey to Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather’s life during the Nazi liquidation of the family shtetl. —Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 30 Jan. 2025

Its center was not the nostalgia of the shtetl but the mysterious resonance of a more ancient landscape. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish shtetl, from Middle High German stetel, diminutive of stat place, town, city, from Old High German, place — more at stead entry 1

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shtetl

• cuttle
• scuttle
• shuttle
• subtle
• suttle
• rebuttal