Mazel tov
Jewish phrase for congratulations
"Mazel tov" (Yiddish: מזל טוב, romanized: mázl tov) or "mazal tov" (Hebrew: מזל טוב, romanized: mazál tov; lit. "good fortune") is a Jewish phrase used to express congratulations for a happy and significant occasion or event.
Etymology and pronunciation
The word mazel comes from the Biblical Hebrew mazzāl, meaning "constellation" or (in Mishnaic Hebrew) "astrological sign" and may be related to the root נ-ז-ל meaning "to flow down". The phrase mazel tov first appears in Geonic Hebrew, where it means "positive astrological sign" or simply "good fortune." The Medieval Hebrew chant siman tov u-mazel tov, yehe lanu ulkhol yisrael "A good sign, a good omen! Let it happen for us and for all Israel" was used to congratulate, and the phrase itself acquired a congratulatory usage in Yiddish and Hebrew by the early 19th century and was later incorporated into Modern Hebrew. The Yiddish and Ashkenazic pronunciation of mazel has the stress on the first syllable while the Modern Hebrew word mazal has the stress on the last syllable. Mazel-tov is also used as a personal name.
The phrase "mazel tov" is recorded as entering into American English from Yiddish in 1862, pronounced MAH-zəl-TOV, -TOF. The word mazel was lent to a number of European languages, meaning "luck", such as: German, as Massel; Hungarian, as mázli; Dutch, as mazzel and the verb mazzelen ("to be lucky"). The word tov also entered Dutch as tof or toffe ("nice" or "great") and German as töfte or dufte.
Usage
Mazel tov is literally translated as "good luck" in its meaning as a description, not a wish.
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