klezmer

noun

klez·​mer ˈklez-mər 

plural klezmorim (ˌ)klez-ˈmȯr-əm 

1

: a Jewish instrumentalist especially of traditional eastern European music

2

: the music played by klezmorim

Examples of klezmer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a similar vein, Malloy’s musical score is almost anonymously eclectic — wistful ballads, stomping pop, a smattering of EDM — but threaded through with enough strains of Russian folk and klezmer to suggest a sense of place. —Houman Barekat, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2024

Dance sections lacked charm; lyric passages were spiritless; the klezmer episodes in the third movement were strictly goyish. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024

Netsky noted the irony of the WEVD material being thrown out in the early 1980s — just as the klezmer and Yiddish culture revival was taking off. —Jon Kalish, Sun Sentinel, 13 Nov. 2024

The joyous, buoyant sounds of klezmer music will ring out for hours this weekend in midtown Detroit when Michigan’s first klezmer festival is held. —Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Yiddish, from Hebrew kĕlēy zemer musical instruments

First Known Use

1908, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

klezmer

noun

klez·​mer ˈklez-mər 

plural klezmorim klez-ˈmȯr-əm 

1

: a Jewish instrumentalist especially of traditional eastern European music

2

: the music played by klezmorim