Born out of the side: יוֹצֵא דֹּפֶן

יוֹצֵא דֹּפֶן

yo-TSE DO-fen, unusual, out of the ordinary, exceptional.

Word for word it means “comes out of the side”. יוֹצֵא is “goes out”, and דֹּפֶן is a side or a wall.¹ In the Mishnah, a יוֹצֵא דֹּפֶן is a baby born through the side of the body rather than the usual way: what we’d call a caesarean.²

A birth that isn’t like the others. From there, Hebrew started using it for anything that isn’t like the others, good or bad.³

How Israelis use it today:

• Unusualגֶּשֶׁם בְּאוֹגוּסְט זֶה מַשֶּׁהוּ יוֹצֵא דֹּפֶן.Rain in August is something unusual.geshem be-ogust ze mashehu yotse dofen
• A complimentהִיא מוֹרָה יוֹצֵאת דֹּפֶן.She’s an exceptional teacher.hi mora yotset dofen
• Exceptionsיֵשׁ כַּמָּה מִקְרִים יוֹצְאֵי דֹּפֶן.There are a few exceptions.yesh kama mikrim yotse’ei dofen
• As an exceptionבְּאֹפֶן יוֹצֵא דֹּפֶן, הַחֲנוּת פְּתוּחָה עַד חֲצוֹת.As an exception, the shop is open until midnight.be-ofen yotse dofen, ha-chanut ptucha ad chatsot
• Only the first word changesיוֹצֵא · יוֹצֵאת · יוֹצְאֵי דֹּפֶן(masculine · feminine · plural)yotse · yotset · yotse’ei dofen

1. Pealim, דֹּפֶן.
2. Mishnah Niddah 5:1 and Bekhorot 8:2. Read it on Sefaria
3. Rav-Milim, entry יוֹצֵא דֹּפֶן; Hamichlol, יוצא דופן (Hebrew).