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Marrano
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4 dictionary results for: Marrano
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
Mar·ra·no       [muh-rah-noh] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural -nos.
a Spanish or Portuguese Jew who was converted to Christianity during the late Middle Ages, usually under threat of death or persecution, esp. one who continued to adhere to Judaism in secret.
[Origin: < Sp: lit., pig, from the Jewish law forbidding the eating of pork (prob. < Ar maḥram forbidden)]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Mar·ra·no       (mə-rä'nō)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. Mar·ra·nos Offensive
Used as a disparaging term for a Converso.


[Spanish, pig, Marrano (from the Jewish prohibition against eating pork), probably from Arabic maḥram, something forbidden, from ḥarama, to forbid; see ḥrm in Semitic roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Marrano 
"Jew or Moor converted to Christianity," 1583, from Sp., lit. "pig, swine," an expression of contempt, from Ar. muharram "forbidden thing" (eating of pork is forbidden by Muslim and Jewish religious law), from haruma "was forbidden" (see harem).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
marrano

noun
(medieval Spain and Portugal) a disparaging term for a Jew who converted to Christianity in order to avoid persecution but continued to practice their religion secretly 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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