There are a number of theories regarding the etymology of the word. The best known is that it originates from the cultural differences in dress that developed between the more westernized Western European Jews who wore shorter "jackets" from the traditional longer coats while the outer clothing worn by the Eastern European Jews was typically longer. Another theory is that the word derives from "Yekkef", the Western European pronunciation of the name "Jacob" or "James", which differs from the Eastern European pronunciation, "Yankef" or "Yankev". Furthermore, since Yiddish is derived from Middle High German, German sources occasionally note that Yiddish yekk is largely homophone with jeck, the Rhenish dialectal form of Standard GermanGeck of uncertain origin but in contexts relating German jeck to Yiddish yekk attributed to patriarch Jacob in the Bible as does above-mentioned Yekkef theory. Rhenish Jeck as a noun denotes a "fool", "jester", or "crazy person" and as an adjective means "crazy", "mad", "insane", whereas the dated High German word Geck originally meant a "fool" as well but later transformed to particularly signify a "dandy" or "fop". However, the broader usage of the Rhenish noun Jeck in the Rhineland area has given the term a general meaning resembling "person", " mortal", or "humble sinner" with a particularly ironic connotation, such as in the common saying Jeder Jeck is anders. From there, a transformation into an ethnonym such as for Jewish people would be akin to the fate of similar terms such as Germanicman and *þiuda-, and the equivalent words for "person" or "human being" in many other languages around the world.
Usage
The term is often used in a slightly derogatory or cynical manner, although it is also used as a compliment. It is used mainly in reference to the German Jews’ legendary attention to detail and punctuality. This sense for detail extends into the strict adherence to minhagim. Oberlanders — Jews originating from the northwestern part of the former Kingdom of Hungary — are often confused with yekkes due to similar minhagim.
Today, because of the Holocaust, very few original Yekkes are still German residents, but they remain in regions such as Switzerland, Eastern France, Netherlands and Luxembourg. A significant community escaped Frankfurt after Kristallnacht, and relocated to the Washington Heights region of New York City, where they still have a synagogue, K'hal Adass Jeshurun, which punctiliously adheres to the Yekkish liturgical text, rituals, and melodies. A group of Yekkes established kibbutzChofetz Chaim in the Gedarim region of Israel just south of Tel Aviv. Recently a few new Yekkish communities have been started in Israel by "Machon Moreshet Ashkenaz," and one of the leading communities is K'hal Adas Yeshurun of Jerusalem, which is running a "Nusach Project", a project of preserving the special Yekkish melodies. The short filmChaja & Mimi focuses on the ambivalent relationship of two Yekkish Israeli women to the city of their birth, Berlin.
