Word
jewish
Phoneticsjew·ish
/ˈdʒuɪʃ/
Definitions
01religion
adj. relating to the religion of Judaism.
adj. relating to the monotheistic religion of the Jewish people.
“The family celebrated several Jewish holidays throughout the year.”
“The scholar published a comprehensive study on Jewish law and its influence on modern ethical frameworks.”
02culture and people
adj. relating to the culture, history, or ethnicity of Jews.
adj. relating to the ethnic identity, cultural heritage, or history of the Jewish people, independent of religious practice.
“They enjoyed traditional Jewish food at the community festival.”
“The museum features an extensive collection of Jewish art spanning several centuries of European history.”
03offensive stereotype
adj. a very offensive and rude way to describe someone as greedy.
adj. a derogatory and highly offensive stereotype used to characterize someone as miserly or greedy.
“He used a Jewish stereotype to insult the shopkeeper, which was very offensive.”
“The use of such a derogatory Jewish trope in the 19th-century novel reflects the deep-seated prejudices of that era.”
Vulgar · Informal
Usage
This sense is purely an ethnic slur and is considered hate speech in many contexts.
Teaching tip
Learners must never use this word to mean 'greedy'; it is a severe ethnic slur that will cause great offense.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Jew + -ish. Compare Middle English Judewissh (“Jewish”), Old English Iūdēisċ (“Jewish”), Dutch joodsch, joods (“Jewish”), German jüdisch (“Jewish”), Danish jødisk (“Jewish”), Swedish judisk (“Jewish”), Gothic 𐌾𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌺𐍃 (judaiwisks, “Jewish”). See also Yiddish.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/jewish