Jew

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See also: jew

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms[edit]

  • Joo (humorous, informal form)

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English Jew, Giu, Giw, Ju, from Old French juiu, Giu, gyu, from Latin iūdaeus (“Judean (i.e. Jew)”), from Ancient Greek Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos), from Hebrew יְהוּדִי‎ (Yehudi). Doublet of Yehudi.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Jew (plural Jews)

  1. An adherent of Judaism.
    Both Jews and Muslims refrain from eating pork.
    Synonym: Judaist
    Antonyms: gentile, goy
    Hypernyms: Abrahamist, Judeo-Christian, monotheist
    Hyponyms: halakhist, Orthodox Jew, rabbi
  2. A member or descendant of the Jewish people.
    Many Jews eat bagels.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:Jew
    Antonyms: gentile, goy
    Hypernyms: Hebrew, Israelite
    Hyponyms: Ashkenazi, Jewess, Mizrahi, Romaniote, Sephardi
    • c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene i]:
      Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs
      dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with
      the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
      to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means,
      warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer
      as a Christian is?
    • 1926, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Land of Mist‎[1]:
      The wrongs of a Jew are not lightly forgotten, for the race can both love and hate.
    • 1996 March 1, The Australian Jewish News, page 33, column 1:
      A young Australian Jew engaged on the trip of a lifetime finally arrives in the homeland of his people.
  3. (derogatory) A miserly or greedy person; a cheapskate.
    • 2010, Matthew S. Hiley, Hubris Falls, page 111:
      “Jesus, Williams, you're such a Jew,” Jimmy said in an annoyed, high-pitched tone. “Have you ever just paid a check, or do you always make an ass of yourself?”
  4. (naval, slang) A ship's tailor.

Usage notes[edit]

  • There is an archaic plural Jewes.
  • The Jewish community is often defined as having a common religion, culture, identity, and ethnicity, but individual Jews do not necessarily share all of these; therefore, a person might be a Jew by one standpoint but not by another. Additionally, there are some religious groups that identify themselves as part of Judaism, but that other Jewish groups might not; hence, use of the term Jew often depends on the speaker's opinions. See Who is a Jew?.
  • The noun Jew is not colloquially taken to be a slur, and the overwhelming majority of English-speaking Jews use the noun Jew to identify themselves. That said, it has become offensive for historical reasons to use the word Jew attributively, in modifying another noun (as in "Jew lawyer"); the adjective Jewish is preferred for this purpose. Additionally, the derived verbs jew and jew down are considered offensive, as they reflect stereotypes considered offensive.

Coordinate terms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Sranan Tongo: Dyu

Translations[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

Jew (plural Jews)

  1. A surname​.

Further reading[edit]

Verb[edit]

Jew (third-person singular simple present Jews, present participle Jewing, simple past and past participle Jewed)

  1. (offensive) Alternative letter-case form of jew

Anagrams[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French juiu, from Latin iūdaeus, from Ancient Greek Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos), from Hebrew יְהוּדִי‎ (y'hudí); Doublet of Judew.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Jew (plural Jewes)

  1. Jew (member of the Jewish people)
  2. Jew (adherent of Judaism)
  3. Israelite (inhabitant of Biblical Israel)

Declension[edit]

    Declension of Jew
Singular Plural
nominative, accusative Jew Jewes
genitive Jewes Jewes, Jewen
dative Jewe Jewen

Related terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

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