[
joo] 
| 1. | one of a scattered group of people that traces its descent from the Biblical Hebrews or from postexilic adherents of Judaism; Israelite. |
| 2. | a person whose religion is Judaism. |
| 3. | a subject of the ancient kingdom of Judah. |
| 4. | Offensive. of Jews; Jewish. |
| 5. | (lowercase) Offensive. to bargain sharply with; beat down in price (often fol. by down). |
| jew (jōō) tr.v. jewed, jew·ing, jews Offensive
[From Jews' supposedly extortionate practices as moneylenders in the Middle Ages.] |
| Jew (jōō) n.
[Middle English Jeu, from Old French giu, from Latin Iūdaeus, from Greek Ioudaios, from Aramaic yəhudāy, from Hebrew yəhûdî, inhabitant of Judah, from yəhûdâ, Judah; see Judah2.] Usage Note: It is widely recognized that the attributive use of the noun Jew, in phrases such as Jew lawyer or Jew ethics, is both vulgar and highly offensive. In such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a practice that carries risks of its own. In a sentence such as There are now several Jews on the council, which is unobjectionable, the substitution of a circumlocution like Jewish people or persons of Jewish background may in itself cause offense for seeming to imply that Jew has a negative connotation when used as a noun. |
The Israelites, particularly after their return from captivity in Babylon about five hundred years before the birth of Jesus; at that time, the Israelites were established as a religious group, founded on the Mosaic law, not simply a national group.
Note: When the Jewish nation was destroyed by the Romans in the year a.d. 70 and the Jews were scattered throughout the world, their religious beliefs and customs allowed them to remain one people.