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Jewish Words

Davka

November 5, 2008 13:54

By

Rabbi Julian Sinclair,

Rabbi Julian Sinclair

1 min read

"Davka" is a word most Jews understand without necessarily being able to define it.

This is probably to do with the long, strange journey which the word has taken from its original roots.

As used today, "davka" means something like "just to annoy" (similar to "auftzuluchis"), or sometimes "in his own inimitable way." As in "She, ‘davka,' only wears green:" or "They drive on Shabbat, ‘davka:'" or sometimes even, "He'd be a nice guy if he wasn't so ‘davka.'"

It's fascinating to trace how "davka" comes to bear this variety of meanings. Its root is the Aramaic verb "duch," which means "to grind up fine," or "to turn into powder." From this it is used in the Talmud to mean "to examine something closely, carefully," or "punctiliously."