Originally Posted by
cepheid
The words are Hebrew, but according to
Wikipedia, the
phrase itself (at least in current usage) is of Yiddish origin, from whence it was incorporated into Modern Hebrew. The pronunciation also differentiates it: "MA-zel TOV" is Yiddish, while "ma-ZAL TOV" is Hebrew.
Here is what it says in Wikipedia:
While the words mazal (or mazel in Yiddish; "luck" or "fortune") and tov ("good") are Hebrew in origin, the phrase is of Yiddish origin, and was later incorporated into Modern Hebrew.
You will note that there is
no source for this proposition, not even a link to a blog, which means that someone pulled it out of thin air.
Another example of the "value" of Wikipedia.
