''Mokum'' (מקום) is the

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

word for "place" or "safe haven". It is derived from the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

word ''makom'' (מקום, "place").

In Yiddish, the names for some cities in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

were shortened to ''Mokum'' and had the first letter of the name of the city, transliterated into the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet ( he, wikt:אלפבית, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew languag ...

, added to them. Cities named this way were

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

, and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. ''Mokum'', without ''

Aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac , Arabic ʾ and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez . These letter ...

'', is still commonly used as a

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

in the

for the city of

. The nickname was first considered to be ''

bargoens ''Bargoens'' is a form of Dutch slang. More specifically, it is a cant language that arose in the 17th century, and was used by criminals, tramps and travelling salesmen as a secret code, like Spain's ''Germanía'' or French ''Argot''. It is spe ...

'', a form of Dutch

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

, but in the 20th century it lost its negative sound and is now used by Amsterdammers as a nickname for their city in a sentimental context. Examples are the song "

Brand in Mokum "Scotland's Burning", also known in England as "London's Burning", is a variant of a song and nursery rhyme popular with children. Words The song can be sung as a round when each part starts two bars after the previous one. It may be an example ...

" (derived from "

Scotland's Burning "Scotland's Burning", also known in England as "London's Burning", is a variant of a song and nursery rhyme popular with children. Words The song can be sung as a round when each part starts two bars after the previous one. It may be an example ...

"), Mokum 700, an exhibit in the

RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, formerly Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre or simply RAI Amsterdam (Dutch pronunciation: , acronym for ''Rijwiel en Automobiel Industrie''), is a complex of conference and exhibition halls in the Zui ...

celebrating the 700th anniversary of Amsterdam in 1975, or "Mama Mokum", a song about Amsterdam by

Ramses Shaffy Ramses Shaffy (29 August 1933 – 1 December 2009) was a Dutch-French singer and actor who became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include "Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder", "We zullen doorgaan", "Pastorale", "Samm ...

from 1997.Ramses '97

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

. Retrieved 2020-02-11.

References

{{Reflist Alternative place names Culture in Amsterdam Delft Dutch words and phrases Hebrew words and phrases History of Amsterdam History of Berlin

Mokum ''Mokum'' (מקום) is the Yiddish word for "place" or "safe haven". It is derived from the Hebrew word ''makom'' (מקום, "place"). In Yiddish, the names for some cities in the Netherlands and Germany were shortened to ''Mokum'' and had t ...

Rotterdam Yiddish culture in Germany Yiddish culture in the Netherlands Yiddish words and phrases