ד״ש
dash
Regards (acronym of "drishat shalom").
What does it literally mean, and what do Israelis actually mean?
What it literally means
Literal: "request of peace."
ד״ש להורי, מקווים שהכל בסדר אצלכם.Dash la-horim, mekavim she-ha-kol be-seder etzleichem.Regards to my parents, hope all's well with you.
What Israelis actually mean
"regards / say hi."
תעבירי ד״ש חם לדנה כשאת רואה אותה.Ta'avari dash cham le-Dana kshe-at ro'a ota.Give Dana warm regards when you see her.
Where did this word come from?
Standard Hebrew acronymics: דרישת שלום appears in rabbinic letters as a closing greeting (medieval-rabbinic epistolography); clipped in modern usage to the acronym ד״ש, pronounced "dash", used in letters, texts, and speech ("timsher dash la-mishpacha", send regards to the family). The acronym expansion is standard in dictionaries.
Register & social context
Casual, warm; letters, texts, and speech. In texting, ד״ש is as standard as "BR" (best regards), pronounce the letters as one syllable, never "dalet-shin."
Root & morphology
Acronym of דרישת שלום (drishat shalom, "requesting/greeting of peace"), the formal epistolary "regards."
Influences & contact languages
- Hebrew (עברית, Ivrit)Hebrew acronym of drishat shalom, medieval-rabbinic letter formulas clipped to ד״ש.
Which places are associated with this word?
This word travels through people, not places, so we don't pin it.
See where it lives in the language constellationHear it in the wild
ד״ש להורי, מקווים שהכל בסדר אצלכם.
Dash la-horim, mekavim she-ha-kol be-seder etzleichem.
Regards to my parents, hope all's well with you.
תעבירי ד״ש חם לדנה כשאת רואה אותה.
Ta'avari dash cham le-Dana kshe-at ro'a ota.
Give Dana warm regards when you see her.
What English speakers get wrong
It's not the English word "dash"; and in texting, ד״ש is as standard as "BR", pronounce the letters as one syllable, never "dalet-shin."
What lives next to this word?
Sources & review
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