luftmensch

English

Etymology

From Yiddish לופֿטמענטש‎ (luftmentsh), from לופֿט‎ (luft, “air”) + מענטש‎ (mentsh, “man”).

Noun

luftmensch (plural luftmenschen)

  1. One more concerned with airy intellectual pursuits than practical matters like earning an income.
    My wife is such a luftmensch she missed our anniversary dinner because she was too busy reading her books!
    • March 24, 2007, McLean, Helen, “Marc of Distinction”, in The Globe and Mail, Books, page D6:
      Chagall was a luftmensch, he says, a man of the air...
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.