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Writer Menachem Kaiser argues in his essay "Anti-non-Semitism: An Investigation of the Shiksa" that "the pejorative connotation of 'shiksa' is fuzzy at best" because "'shiksa' today is used as often as not in winking self-reference".<ref name=Kaiser>{{cite web |url=http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/anti-non-semitism-an-investigation-of-the-shiksa |title=Anti-non-Semitism: An Investigation of the Shiksa |first=Menachem |last=Kaiser |date=March 6, 2013 |work=] |accessdate=May 22, 2016 }}</ref>
Writer Menachem Kaiser argues in his essay "Anti-non-Semitism: An Investigation of the Shiksa" that "the pejorative connotation of 'shiksa' is fuzzy at best" because "'shiksa' today is used as often as not in winking self-reference".<ref name=Kaiser>{{cite web |url=http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/anti-non-semitism-an-investigation-of-the-shiksa |title=Anti-non-Semitism: An Investigation of the Shiksa |first=Menachem |last=Kaiser |date=March 6, 2013 |work=] |accessdate=May 22, 2016 }}</ref>
==Etymology==
The etymology of the word ''shiksa'' is partly derived from the ] term שקץ ''shekets'', meaning "abomination", "impure," or "object of loathing", depending on the translator.<ref name=FAQ>{{cite web|url=http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/11-Miscellaneous/section-7.html |title=soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Miscellaneous and References (11/12) Section - Question 19.6: What does "shiksa" and "shaygetz" mean? How offensive are they? |publisher=Faqs.org |date=March 27, 2014 |accessdate=May 22, 2016 }}</ref>
Several dictionaries define ''shiksa'' as a disparaging and offensive term applied to a non-Jewish girl or woman.<ref name=Kaiser/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/shiksa |title=definition of shiksa |website=] |accessdate=May 22, 2016 }}</ref> In 2014, Rabbi Jack Abramowitz described it as "simply indefensible", "inherently condescending, racist and misogynistic".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ou.org/life/inspiration/jewish-n-word/ |title=The Jewish N Word |first=Jack |last=Abramowitz |date=December 18, 2014 |publisher=ou.org |accessdate=May 9, 2018 }}</ref>
Shiksa (Template:Lang-yi) is a term for a non-Jewish woman or girl. The word, which is of Yiddish origin, has moved into English usage (as well as Polish and German), mostly in North AmericanJewish culture, as According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it came into English usage in the late 19th century from the Yiddish shikse, which is an adaptation of the Hebrew word šiqṣâ, which is derived from sheqeṣ ("a detested thing") and the feminine suffix -â.
Among Orthodox Jews, the term may be used to describe a Jewish girl or woman who fails to follow Orthodox religious precepts.
The equivalent term for a non-Jewish male, used less frequently, is shegetz.
As self-reference
Writer Menachem Kaiser argues in his essay "Anti-non-Semitism: An Investigation of the Shiksa" that "the pejorative connotation of 'shiksa' is fuzzy at best" because "'shiksa' today is used as often as not in winking self-reference".
Derivative
In Polish, siksa or sziksa (pronounced [ɕiksa]) is a pejorative but humorous word for an immature young girl or teenage girl. According to Polish language dictionary from 1915, it has been defined as "pisspants"; a conflation between the Yiddish term and its similarity to the Polish verb sikać ("to piss"). In today's language however, it is roughly equivalent to the English terms "snot-nosed brat", "little squirt", and "naughty school-girl" in a humorous context.