# Is there a word/concept for "piggy bank" in Yiddish or Hebrew?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [December 21, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967 "2011-12-21T17:41:39Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/1 "2011-12-21T17:41:39Z")
Today I paid for my coffee with a whole bunch of change, and half-apologized and smiled “I had to break open the piggy bank today.”
Quizzical look for reply. Aahh, realization: the guy was Israeli.
I know it is a custom (law?) to have a daily coin box for charity in the house, a _pushke_ in Yiddish. The idea of breaking into it for change, under normal circumstances, is abhorrent.
So, what do these Jewish languages/cultures say for the English “piggy bank?”
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### Author:  [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/2 "2011-12-21T20:03:26Z")
I do not know any Hebrew, but this online English-Hebrew dictionary has an entry for “piggybank”:
> **[piggybank in Hebrew - English-Hebrew Dictionary | Glosbe](https://glosbe.com/en/he/piggybank)**
>
> Check 'piggybank' translations into Hebrew. Look through examples of piggybank translation in sentences, listen to pronunciation and learn grammar.
**קופת חיסכון**
A container used to collect coins, often in form of a pig.
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### Author:  [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/3 "2011-12-21T20:06:52Z")
And, if I cut-and-paste that Hebrew word back into Google, I get a hit for this Israeli website (in Hebrew) that shows pictures of various toy or novelty change banks for sale, including more than one piggy:
[http://tinyurl.com/boovml3](http://tinyurl.com/boovml3)
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### Author:  [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/4 "2011-12-21T20:14:41Z")
Seconded – the closest term for Piggy Bank is “קופת חסכון”; which basically just means “Savings’ Money-box.” The association with Piggies is imported from the English language 🙂
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### Author:  [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2011, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/5 "2011-12-21T20:16:51Z")
Tzedakah box in Hebrew, but again the intent is for charity (like a Pushke in Yiddish), as opposed to a piggy bank which is for personal savings, typically.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/6 "2011-12-21T20:20:14Z")
Wouldn’t German be used in a term that’s not part of Yiddish? Or are Yiddish speakers adapting Hebrew now-a-days?
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2011, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/7 "2011-12-21T21:46:42Z")
People have kept money in ceramic containers of other shapes (which had to be broken open, just like a piggy bank). The modern piggy bank is, I suspect, a relatively recent variation o n the concept, probably invented in the 20th century (offhand, I don’t know of any earlier citations. It’s worth looking into).
Pieter Brueghel the elder included the onion-shaped ceramic banks in several of his engravings back in the 16th century. Here’s ann engraving of such banks fighting against strong boxes, which is pretty surreal. The “piggy banks” have crescent-shaped slots in the tops for coins:
[http://www.masterworksfineart.com/inventory/2191](http://www.masterworksfineart.com/inventory/2191)
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/8 "2011-12-22T01:44:03Z")
Ignorance fought. Thank you. Although I doubt sincerely religious Jews would have a classic piggy bank in their house.
The Brueghel is a pisser.
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/9 "2011-12-22T02:22:04Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Wouldn’t German be used in a term that’s not part of Yiddish? Or are Yiddish speakers adapting Hebrew now-a-days?
Yiddish already has components from Hebrew and German, among other laguages. In the US my folks spoke “yinglish”, (yiddish was their first language) where English got mixed in when they didn’t have a yiddish word for something. I’m sure that true of other countries, using their local languages. In fact, when we visited Israeli relatives, they tossed Hebrew when missing a Yiddish word.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/10 "2011-12-22T03:37:21Z")
The etymology of “piggy bank” is, of course, strictly English (they were originally made of “pygg clay”), so why would Yiddish speakers borrow the word from German, when they could get it directly from English?
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### Author:  [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/11 "2011-12-22T03:44:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> People have kept money in ceramic containers of other shapes (which had to be broken open, just like a piggy bank). The modern piggy bank is, I suspect, a relatively recent variation o n the concept, probably invented in the 20th century (offhand, I don’t know of any earlier citations. It’s worth looking into).
> …
At least as far back as the 18th century according to this staff report:
> **[What’s the origin of the piggy bank?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342682/what-s-the-origin-of-the-piggy-bank)**
>
> A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD
(Synopsis: it comes from a visual pun on “pygg”, the type of clay used to make such storage containers, as noted in the previous post, which was pronounced differently until the “Great Vowel Shift”.)
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/12 "2011-12-22T07:13:17Z")
> [@yabob](#):
>
> At least as far back as the 18th century according to this staff report:
>
> [What’s the origin of the piggy bank? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1542/whats-the-origin-of-the-piggy-bank)
>
> (Synopsis: it comes from a visual pun on “pygg”, the type of clay used to make such storage containers, as noted in the previous post, which was pronounced differently until the “Great Vowel Shift”.)
Fascinating. Had no idea. Also now I know where (no money) “broke” came from.
Is “pig iron” etymology similar?
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/13 "2011-12-22T07:16:52Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> Ignorance fought. Thank you. Although I doubt sincerely religious Jews would have a classic piggy bank in their house.
The prohibition on pigs in Judaism is on _eating_ them for the most part. I’ve yet to hear of a ban on _representations_ of pigs.
It’s Islam that tends to ban all references and the like in regards to pigs, which they regard as unclean for everything and not just unclean for eating.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/14 "2011-12-22T07:20:33Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> Fascinating. Had no idea. Also now I know where (no money) “broke” came from.
>
> Is “pig iron” etymology similar?
[Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_iron) is an explanation for where the term pig iron comes from.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/15 "2011-12-22T09:00:29Z")
> [@panache45](#):
>
> The etymology of “piggy bank” is, of course, strictly English (they were originally made of “pygg clay”), so why would Yiddish speakers borrow the word from German, when they could get it directly from English?
When the usage of pig-shaped piggy banks and the shape-referenced name (Sparschwein, lit savingspig) spread to German-speaking countries, why would Jews be more resistant of the neologism than other people? Depending on where the word got borrowed, they would borrow it from English, from German or from whichever was the main local language. There’s no reason for Yiddish speakers in English-speaking countries to borrow from German a term which has an English equivalente, but also no reason why a term can’t jump through a string of languages.
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### Author:  [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/16 "2011-12-22T14:38:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#):
>
> The prohibition on pigs in Judaism is on _eating_ them for the most part. I’ve yet to hear of a ban on _representations_ of pigs.
>
> It’s Islam that tends to ban all references and the like in regards to pigs, which they regard as unclean for everything and not just unclean for eating.
Yes, there’s no problem with keeping pigs, or representations of pigs, around. I had two piggy banks while growing up Orthodox Jewish, and have no idea whether the leather in my shoes/coat/belts is pig leather or not. The Lubavitch chassidic movement avoids all representations of non-kosher animals (no teddy bears for their kids, etc.), but this is viewed as an unusual practice by other Orthodox groups.
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/17 "2011-12-23T01:11:20Z")
> [@GilaB](#):
>
> Yes, there’s no problem with keeping pigs, or representations of pigs, around. I had two piggy banks while growing up Orthodox Jewish, and have no idea whether the leather in my shoes/coat/belts is pig leather or not. The Lubavitch chassidic movement avoids all representations of non-kosher animals (no teddy bears for their kids, etc.), but this is viewed as an unusual practice by other Orthodox groups.
I would wager that your case is a rare exception.
Hell, until major rabbinic/medical consultations, heart valves from pigs were not allowed, provided an alternative was available.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/18 "2011-12-23T03:00:27Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> I would wager that your case is a rare exception.
>
> Hell, until major rabbinic/medical consultations, heart valves from pigs were not allowed, provided an alternative was available.
Are you sure about this? To save a life, there is no question that eating pork is allowed, I doubt anybody would care about a heart valve.
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2011, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/19 "2011-12-23T03:11:48Z")
He did say, unless no other alternative was available…
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [December 23, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-word-concept-for-piggy-bank-in-yiddish-or-hebrew/606967/20 "2011-12-23T03:55:43Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> He did say, unless no other alternative was available…
[Lecture](http://www.j-c-r.org/programs.html) titles over the years from an institute of Rabbis, Doctors, Rabbis-who-are-Doctors, etc. give a sense of shared issues of concern, most ultimately dealing with _pikuach nefesh_, saving life.
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