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Yiddish is an amalgam of German, Russian, Hebrew and many other languages that has persevered even though the fate of the people who speak it has been consistently in danger for centuries. The fact that English, the most popular language on the planet, contains words that are recognizably derived from Yiddish is something of a linguistic miracle, considering many of the 13 million native speakers of Yiddish were wiped out during World War II. Many of these 15 words may be familiar, but the routes they took to get to English, and the literal meanings of many of them, are surprising. Here are 15 common English words derived from Yiddish.

Set in 1968, this companion novel to The Wednesday Wars focuses on Doug Swieteck, who struggles to adjust to life in a small town and to cope with his hostile family.

Twelve-year-old Trevor, a talented artist, faces difficult situations living in the projects and violence in the family. He grapples with how to use his hands: to fight or to build a better future.