''Firgun'' (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: פירגון) is an informal modern

term and concept in

Israeli culture The culture of Israel is closely associated with Jewish culture and rooted in the Jewish history of the Jewish diaspora, diaspora and Zionism, Zionist movement. It has also been influenced by Arab culture and the history and traditions of the Ara ...

, which compliments someone or describes genuine, unselfish delight or

pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

in the accomplishment of another person. Another definition describes ''firgun'' as a generosity of spirit, an unselfish, empathetic joy that something good has happened, or might happen, to another person. The concept does not have a one-word equivalent in English.Carmon, Irin
HEBREW’S SPECIAL PRIDE
Tablet Magazine; June 18, 2012Kordova, Shoshana
Word of the Day / Firgun: The art of tooting someone else's horn
Haaretz. Aug. 25, 2014
Balashon. March 07, 2010 The infinitive form of the word, ''lefargen'', means to make someone feel good without any ulterior motives. This absence of negativity is an integral part of the concept of ''firgun''.

Etymology

The word can be traced back to the

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

word ''farginen'' (a

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...

of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

word ''vergönnen''). A relatively modern addition to Hebrew, the word was initially used in the 1970s, and gained momentum in subsequent decades. According to Tamar Katriel, professor of communications in the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

, ''firgun'' differs from giving compliments, since it is "about an affinity that is authentic and without agenda". The concept of ''firgun'' can be found in Talmudic Hebrew as ''ayin tova'' or ''ayin yafa'' - "a good eye". Those phrases are not commonly used in modern Hebrew.

International Firgun Day

In 2014, Made in JLM, an Israeli non-profit community group, set out to create "International Firgun Day", a holiday celebrated yearly on July 17, where people share compliments or express genuine pride in the accomplishment of others on social media. To help promote the holiday, Made in JLM holds an overnight marketing hackathon at the night before July 17 and an online automatic ''firgun''-generating tool in several languages, called the ''firgunator''."Firgunator
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External links

International Firgun Day Website

References

{{Israel topics Hebrew slang Culture of Israel Yiddish words and phrases Words and phrases with no direct English translation Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew

Etymology

International Firgun Day

See also

External links

References