ENGLISH
REFERENCE

jew

n. countable
B1 Intermediate US //ˈdʒu// jew Slang Vulgar

n. a person who belongs to a group of people with a shared history, culture, and religion called Judaism.

n. a member of the people and cultural community whose traditional religion is Judaism and who trace their origins through the ancient Hebrew people of Israel to Abraham.


SIMPLE

He is a practicing Jew who attends synagogue every Saturday.

CONTEXTUAL

The local community center hosts events for both secular and religious Jews to celebrate their shared heritage.

COMPLEX

The historian's lecture focused on the diverse experiences of Jews living in various European cities during the nineteenth century.

Synonyms
Origin

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 Ἰουδά (Ioudá), Ἰούδας (Ioúdas, “Judah, Judas, Jude”) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives), from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (y'hudá, “male given name, Yehuda; Judah, Judea”). Doublet of Yid. Displaced Old English Iūdēisċ.

Usage

The term is a neutral ethnonym when used as a noun; however, using it as an adjective or a verb is considered offensive and antisemitic.

Pitfall

He is a Jew man.He is a Jewish man.While 'Jew' is the correct noun for a person, 'Jewish' is the required adjective form to describe someone or something.

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