Mokum (מקום)

Mokum (מקום) - Mokum (מקום) is the Yiddish word for "place" or "safe haven". It is similar to the Hebrew word makom (מקום, "place"), from which it is derived. In Yiddish the names of some cities in the Netherlands and Germany were shortened to Mokum and had the first letter of the name of the city, transliterated into the Hebrew alphabet, added to them. Cities named this way were Amsterdam, Berlin, Delft, and Rotterdam.

Mokum, without Aleph, is still commonly used as a nickname in the Netherlands for the city of Amsterdam. The nickname was first considered to be Bargoens, a form of Dutch slang, but in the 20th century it lost its negative sound and is now used by Amsterdamers as a nickname for their city in a sentimental context.

see also Why Amsterdam’s beloved nickname is a centuries-old Yiddish word, ‘Mokum’ and Mokum.place, small-scale social network.

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