Dreidel, the classic children toy for Chanukah comes from the Yiddish dreidelen, “to twirl, to spin.” Svivon, its Hebrew translation, coined in the 1890s, is from the root s-v-v, “to turn” plus the suffix -on, in English, “-er” — thus “turner, spinner” (much like ’afifon, “kite,” combines fly and -er).
In spite of its association with Chanukah among the Ashkenazim, originally it was a Hindu hazard game. The four letters N-G-H-SH on the four sides of the box are of German origin; if the spinning top falls on N for Nichts, that means no loss, no gain; on G for Ganz, the winner takes all; on H for Halb, the player takes half; on Sh for Stell ein, the player returns all his pieces and loses.
However, the Judaized game gives the letters a Hebrew-Jewish meaning: Nes Gadol Haya Sham, “A Great Miracle Was There” (in the Land of Israel). The missing link to Chanukah was provided by an Israeli song: sevivon, sov-sov-sov, Chanukah hu Hag Tov … Nes Gadol Haya Po O Top, “turn-turn-turn, Chanukah is a fun Holiday … great miracle was HERE!”
Yona Sabar is a professor of Hebrew and Aramaic in the department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures at UCLA.
