Ernest Klein

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Infobox person Ernest David Klein, Template:Post-nominals (July 26, 1899, Szatmárnémeti – February 4, 1983, Ottawa, Canada) was a Hungarian-born Romanian-Canadian linguist, author, and rabbi.

Early life and education

Klein was born to father Yitzchok (Ignac) and mother Sarah Rachel (Roza) Klein (née Friedrich) on July 26, 1899. in Szatmárnémeti (also known as Szatmar), in Partium,<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a region of Kingdom of Hungary (now Satu Mare, Romania.<ref>Erno Klien birth record, Satu Mare, Romania</ref> He had three sisters.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Klein's father was a respected scholar known for his brilliance. He was rabbi of the Jewish Status Quo Community in Marosvásárhely (now Târgu Mureș, Romania) and author of over 20 books on rabbinical subjects, including the following (all were printed in Satu Mare):<ref>Sages of Transylvania, Yitzchok Yosef Cohen, page 110–111</ref>

• Hebrew Torah Journal Ohel Yitzchok (1903–1914)
• Hebrew Book Zichron L'Yisroel (1912)
• Hebrew Torah Journal Sefer Hamagid (1928–1934)
• Hebrew Torah Journal Magid Yeruchem (1925–1930)
• Hebrew Book Kol Ha'chatan (1937)

Klein's mother also had rabbinical lineage. She was one of the daughters of Chaim (Jakob) Friedrich who was rabbi of the orthodox community in Turc, Ugocsa County, Kingdom of Hungary (now part of Turț, Satu Mare County, Romania).<ref>Sages of Transylvania, Yitzchok Yosef Cohen, pages 193 and 110–111</ref>

From early on in Klein's childhood, his greatness was already noted. At the young age of nine years, Klein was able to recite the entire Book of Psalms by heart.<ref name="ReferenceA">The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, September 9, 1960</ref> As a youth in Hungary, Klein spent his free time in between classes learning new languages.<ref name="The Canadian Jewish News 1975, page 3">The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, August 1, 1975, page 3</ref> Remarkably, at the age of 15, Klein taught himself English using English language textbooks.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Klein had a great talent in learning languages. In an interview by The Canadian Jewish News (August 1, 1975), Klein recalls traveling from his birthplace Satu Mare, Romania to Austria, a little uneasy at the prospect of studying in a foreign country where he did not know the language. Klein taught himself German during the few days journey, and by the end of the year he was the best pupil in his class. Over the years Klein acquired more than 40 languages.

Klein passed his exams to become a rabbi in 1920 when he was 21 years old.

Klein studied languages, philology and exact philosophy at the University of Budapest and the University of Vienna;<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he received his Doctorate of Philosophy from the latter in 1925.<ref name=":0" /> Fifty years later, in 1975 at a ceremony held in Canada by the Austrian Consulate, Klein was awarded the "Golden Ph.D." on his promotion to Doctorate of Philosophy by the University of Vienna.<ref name="The Canadian Jewish News 1975, page 3"/>

Rabbinical career and deportation to Auschwitz

He was the rabbi of the Nové Zámky community, Czechoslovakia, Érsekújvár - since 1938 part of Hungary - from 1931 to 1944 (today part of Slovakia<ref name=":2" />) when he was deported to Auschwitz and Dachau.<ref name=":0" /> His wife and young son were killed in Czechoslovakia before World War II officially commenced.<ref name=":1" /> His father and two of his three sisters were killed in Auschwitz. He was freed from Dachau by US troops in 1945.<ref name=":2" />

After the war he served briefly as the rabbi in his hometown of Satu Mare.<ref name=":0" /> After emigrating to France, he was a rabbi of the synagogue on Rue de Montevideo in Paris (1950–1951) and in 1951 he emigrated to Canada, with his sister Elizabeth and her husband. There he held the post of Rabbi of Congregation Beth Yitshak in Toronto, founded by Hungarian-speaking Holocaust survivors and named for Klein's father Yitschak.<ref name=":2" /> He served as the community's rabbi until his death in 1983.<ref name=":1" />

Author

Klein wrote three etymological dictionaries. His most famous work is A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (1966–1967).<ref name=":1" />

He is also the author of A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English (1987), an English-language etymological dictionary of Hebrew to which he devoted the last ten years of his life.

He wrote an etymological dictionary of medical terms which was not published.<ref name=":0" />

Honors

For his scholarly work he received honorary degrees from McMaster University and the University of Guelph in 1977. In 1978, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.<ref name=":1" />

Further reading

• A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language (1966–1967)
• A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English (1987)