Kwets is the Dutch name of a certain species of plumbs (Prunus domestica subsp. domestica); it is a slender dark blue frosted prune used for making jams and the distillation of slivovitsj.

The origin of Prunus domestica is not clear. For a long time people supposed it was the result of crossbreeding between (Prunus spinosa) and(Prunus cerasifera). This would have taken place by accident in the Kaukasus region, where both parent species grew.

kvetch is a Yiddish word. I know I have the habit of wanting to see connections where they ain't, but still I like to see this word having travelled from the Kaukasus into the wide wide world.

For a person who is always complaining we also refer to prunes.
In Dutch "Zuurpruim" - "sour prune" is the word for what is called here a "kvetch".

Image of kwets

Makes me hungry for Spring already, and winter not yet here.

Then this year we have mazeltov and are ahead with winter. We have snow on the ground and 14 fahrenheit = sub zero 10 celsius at least till the end of the week. And we all (most) like it!

Here it is -3 or 4 celsius and we have SNOW! not much to be honest and it is melting but still snow, and before December too! I can't remember the last time that happened

Lucky Middle Earth! Btw, there's a typo in the head of this thread. I have an attack of severe typomania. It should be Caucasian kvetch, not skvetch. Can't edit. Sorry.

We have some snow, a dusting really, and a temp of
24F. Strong wind, looks and feels like winter.

we got 8" of snow on Nov. 15 here (Minneapolis) and they declared a Snow Emergency even while predicting that it would all melt within a couple days. yesterday (two weeks later) it rained most of the day, finally melting most of what was still on the ground. last night it snowed again.

already I'm tired of, yes, winter.

Log fires for me here on in. Arctic winds can be a bit chilly!

46°F and rainy here. in Vermont. in December. sheesh.

20+ deg celsius in balmy Auckland. Roll on summer.

Haha! We hardly ever get that here even in the height of summer, generally it's 'rain, sun?, no, more rain,(and occassionaly 'ooh snow!') glad you are enjoying the weather

kvets

Sorry I am so late to the game, Branshea. Here's what one etymological dictionary has to say about Dutch kvets 'prune': "Nnl. ontl. uit nhd quetsche v. (waaruit zwetsche v. > de. sveske, zw. sviskon). Dit komt sedert de 16. eeuw voor. Welleicht is het vervormd uit *dwaskin < * damaskin : 'Damasceensche pruim' is een wijd verbreide naam von dese vrucht (mlat. prunum damascenum enz.)." Sorry I am not up to pretending a translation tonight, but thought you might like to see it.

OTOH, German Quatsch means, roughly, 'bullshit, nonsense, codswallop' and must be related to the verb quetschen 'to squeeze, bruise', which is probably related to Yiddish kvatshn 'to bitch, complain'. In Kölsch Quatschkopp means 'stupid person, dunderhead', etc.

Perhaps BranShea could translate for us.

Perhaps BranShea could translate for us.

She might need help with the linguistic-lexicographical abbreviations.

And I only see this today and yes I like to see this juggling with quatch and kvetch and all. ( we also use 'quatch' as 'kwats') But I've had a long computer dull list-making day. So I'd like to try the translation come sunday. Tomorrow will be our kind of festive gifts-day:
St.Nicolaas or Sinterklaas. Still poems to do and surprise wrappings to make. Thank you for the zwetsches; I will be back for it.

Nnl. ontl. uit nhd Quetsche v. (waaruit Zwetsche v. > de. sveske, zw. sviskon). Dit komt sedert de 16. eeuw voor. Welleicht is het vervormd uit *dwaskin < * damaskin : 'Damasceensche pruim' is een wijd verbreide naam von dese vrucht

North Dutch, derived from neues hoch Deutsch Quetsche, f. (from where Zwetsche f. > Danish sveske, Swedish sviskon ) This is in use since the 16th century.Probably it is a deformation from *dwaskin < * damaskin: 'Damascian prune/ plum is a widely spread name of this fruit