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Definition of 'Ashkenazi'

Word Frequency

Ashkenazi in British

(ˌæʃkəˈnɑːzɪ )

noun plural -zim (-zɪm)

1. (modifier)

of or relating to the Jews of Germany and E Europe

2.

a Jew of German or E European descent

3.

the pronunciation of Hebrew used by these Jews

Compare Sephardi

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Word origin of 'Ashkenazi'

C19: Late Hebrew, from Hebrew Ashkenaz, the son of Gomer (Genesis 10:3; I Chronicles 1:6), a descendant of Noah through Japheth, and hence taken to be identified with the ancient Ascanians of Phrygia and, in the medieval period, the Germans

Word Frequency

Ashkenazi in American

(ˌɑʃkəˈnɑzi ; äshˌkənäzˈē; ˌ æʃkəˈnæzi ; ashˌkənazˈē)

nounWord forms: plural ˌAshkeˈnazim (ˌɑʃkəˈnɑzɪm ; äshˌkənäzˈim; ˌæʃkəˈnæzɪm ; ashˌkənazˈim)

1.

a member of the group of Jews that, after the Diaspora, settled in central, northern, and, later, eastern Europe and developed Yiddish as their spoken language

2.

a descendant of this group

see also Sephardi

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Derived forms

Ashkenazic (ˌAshkeˈnazic)

adjective

Word origin of 'Ashkenazi'

Heb, a German Jew; earlier, a German, after ashkenaz, name of an ancient kingdom (see Jer. 51:27), after ashkenaz, second son of Gomer (see Gen. 10:3); prob. akin to Akkadian ishkuzai (> Gr Skythoi, the Scythians)

Word Lists

European peoples

Trends of 'Ashkenazi'

Used Occasionally. Ashkenazi is one of the 30000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

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Nearby words of 'Ashkenazi'

Source

Definition of Ashkenazi from the Collins English Dictionary

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