Dreidel

A dreidel (Hebrew: סביבון‎ Sevivon) is a four-sided spinning top, played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is used for a wagering game. Each side of the dreidel is tagged with the Hebrew letters: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hei), ש (Shin), which is an abbreviation for the expression "Nes Gadol Haya Sham" or "A Great Miracle Happened There" ("נס גדול היה שם"). These letters also shape a mnemotechnic for the rules of a wagering game engaged with a dreidel: Nun stands for the Yiddish word nothing, Hei stands for half, Gimel for all, and Shin for put. In Israel, the 4th side of the dreidels are inscribed with the letter Pei (פ), which is an abbreviation for the expression “ Nes Gadol Haya Po” meaning "A great miracle happened here" (נס גדול היה פה) Referring to the marvel happening in the land of Israel. Some shops in Haredi areas may sell the traditional ש dreidels.

Some Jewish annotators credit emblematic importance to the marks on the dreidel. One annotation joins the four letters with the four expulsions to which the nation of Israel was historically subject—Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

"dreydl", which is a Yiddish word, originates from the word "to turn" ("dreyen") and so is the Hebrew word "sevivon" which was coined by Itamar Ben-Avi, the son of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, at the age pof five.