מְקָרֵר (mekarér) — refrigerator
Etymology
The word מְקָרֵר comes from the root ק.ר.ר (cold), which is ancient and well attested in Hebrew. The word was coined in 1922 not by a linguist or language committee but by a Tel Aviv entrepreneur named Tzvi Bresutsky, who set up a small factory manufacturing insulated ice boxes — the first such factory in the land. He needed a catchy Hebrew name for his product, and he chose מְקָרֵר, a meqattel agent noun meaning "one that makes cold" or "cooler." The name caught on quickly.
When electric refrigerators began appearing in Palestine in the 1930s, they inherited the name "מְקָרֵר חשמלי" (electric refrigerator), which was soon shortened to simply מְקָרֵר. The word competed for decades with פְרִיגִ׳ידֵר — a Yiddish loan from the American brand name Frigidaire, which dominated the refrigerator market in the early 20th century. In the end, מְקָרֵר prevailed entirely; today פְּרִיגִ׳ידֵר is effectively obsolete.
The article surveys the broader family of Hebrew kitchen appliance names and reveals that most have interesting etymologies. תַּנּוּר (oven) comes from Akkadian tinūrum (from root נ.ו.ר, glow/burn). כִּירַיִם (stovetop) comes from the Sumerian word for oven, gir. קֻמְקוּם (kettle) is traced through Greek, Latin, Aramaic, and Persian to the Sumerian gumgum. The committee-approved מְעַרְבֵּל (mixer/blender) and מַמְחֶה (blender) have not caught on; מִקְסֵר and בְּלֶנְדֵּר remain standard. מַצְנֵם (toaster) finally won official approval in 2015 after the Academy reversed a 1977 decision that had preferred the clunky מַקְלֵה לֶחֶם. מֵדִיחַ (dishwasher, from the verb "to rinse") and מִיקְרוֹ (microwave, shortened from תַּנּוּר הַמִּיקְרוֹגַל) are both widely used. מְעַבֵּד הַמָּזוֹן (food processor) is one of the rare cases where a Hebrew calque successfully displaced the English loan.
David Remez, Israel's first Minister of Transport, famously despised the word מְקָרֵר, writing in a personal note: "The word מְקָרֵר disgusts me, for it is not a name for a utensil but a statement of action. There is a proper noun with a mem that fits the concept: מְקֵרָה." His objection was grammatical — he felt a tool should have a noun name, not an agentive one. But the public preferred מְקָרֵר and his critique had no effect.
Key Quotes
"המלה ׳מְקָרֵר׳ תועבת נפשי, כי אין זה שם כלי כלל, אלא קביעת עובדה של פעולה מסויימת" — דוד רמז (בפתק מארכיונו)
Timeline
- 1922: Tzvi Bresutsky founds the first ice box factory in Tel Aviv; coins מְקָרֵר as a brand name
- 1930s: Electric refrigerators reach Palestine; called "מְקָרֵר חשמלי"
- Mid-20th century: "מְקָרֵר חשמלי" shortened to מְקָרֵר; competes with Yiddish פְּרִיגִ׳ידֵר
- Late 20th century: מְקָרֵר wins out completely; פְּרִיגִ׳ידֵר disappears from use
- 1977: Academy committee coins מְעַרְבֵּל and מַמְחֶה for mixer/blender (not adopted)
- 1977: Academy rejects מַצְנֵם for toaster; prefers מַקְלֵה לֶחֶם
- 2015: Academy reverses 1977 decision; officially adopts מַצְנֵם for toaster
Related Words
- קֹר / קָרָה — cold (root noun)
- מְקֵרָה — alternative proposed by David Remez (not adopted)
- תַּנּוּר — oven (from Akkadian)
- כִּירָה — stovetop (from Sumerian)
- קֻמְקוּם — kettle (from Sumerian via Greek, Aramaic, Persian)
- מַצְנֵם — toaster (finally official from 2015)