where does שאַפע come from?

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As a child I heard my mom and bubby refer to a small wardrobe or closet
as a shafa. Today, as I was doing my Yiddish lessons,
I learned the word for closet is שאַפע (shafa). My bubby was born in
Ukraine and spoke Yiddish, Russian and I presume Ukrainian.
The word for closet in Ukranian is шафа (shafa). The word for closet
in Russian is шкаф shkaf.

So what do you think, did Yiddish speakers borrow the Ukraine word for
closet? or Ukrainian speakers borrow the word from Yiddish? Or are there
other languages that also use shafa for closet?

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@klezmer,

klezmer wrote:

As a child I heard my mom and bubby refer to a small wardrobe or closet
as a shafa. Today, as I was doing my Yiddish lessons,
I learned the word for closet is שאַפע (shafa). My bubby was born in
Ukraine and spoke Yiddish, Russian and I presume Ukrainian.
The word for closet in Ukranian is шафа (shafa). The word for closet
in Russian is шкаф shkaf.

So what do you think, did Yiddish speakers borrow the Ukraine word for
closet? or Ukrainian speakers borrow the word from Yiddish? Or are there
other languages that also use shafa for closet?

Without double checking my memory sources, I thought Yiddish was a common language derived from Russian, Ukraine, German and a few other eastern European languages to serve as a common language all Jews would understand. They still had their primary language but it was important for all Jews to be able to move from place to place and be able to communicate. In many cities from the late 20's thru the 60's many people also understood Yiddish because it just became part of the local knowledge. I think there are still many places where it's understood, it's a fascinating form of communication.

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@glitterbag,

glitterbag wrote:

I thought Yiddish was a common language derived from Russian, Ukraine, German and a few other eastern European languages to serve as a common language all Jews would understand.

Actually, Yiddish is a German dialect mixed with Hebrew and Slavic language elements.
Until 1200 AD, this language was Jewish German - three quarters of it consisted of medieval German and one quarter of Hebrew expressions.
The actual Yiddish language only developed through contact with the
Slavic language area. The Jews who migrated back westwards from around the 17th century brought this Yiddish with them.

In "Jiddish" (as it's called here) a small wardrobe or closet would be schrankele (diminutiv of "schrank").

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@Walter Hinteler,

Well done. That was more of a detailed explanation than I had previously understood. I might add a large percentage of Yiddish speakers are of Ashkenazi heritage. A smaller percentage have Sephardic heritage (during the diaspora) and as such have Spanish language mixed in.

My parents spoke it (when they didn’t want us to understand their discussions). One parent’s parents were from what was to become Lithuania and the other from Poland. So thei blended language was a mix of both versions. My oldest sister understood more than us younger ones.

Back to the subject, I’ve got no clue as to the meaning.

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[edit: When you use Wiki to look up the derivation of the Ukrainian word ‘Shafa’, it explains that the term is originally borrowed from the Chinese language.]

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where does שאַפע come from?

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