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ashkenazim - 3 dictionary results

Ash⋅ke⋅naz⋅im

  [ahsh-kuh-nah-zim]
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–plural noun, singular -naz⋅i  [-nah-zee] .
Jews of central and eastern Europe, or their descendants, distinguished from the Sephardim chiefly by their liturgy, religious customs, and pronunciation of Hebrew.
Origin:
1830–40; < post-Biblical Heb ashkənazzīm, pl. of ashkənazzī, equiv. to ashkənaz Ashkenaz + -ī suffix of appurtenance

Related forms:
Ash⋅ke⋅naz⋅ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Ash·ke·naz·i   (äsh'kə-nä'zē)   
n.   pl. Ash·ke·naz·im (-nāz'ĭm, -nä'zĭm)
A member of the branch of European Jews, historically Yiddish-speaking, who settled in central and northern Europe.

[Medieval Hebrew 'aškənāzî, from 'aškənaz, Germany, adoption of Hebrew 'aškənaz, name of one of Noah's grandsons and of a neighboring people, perhaps alteration of earlier *'aškûz, Scythians; akin to Akkadian ašguzai, iškuzai, from Old Persian Saka-, Skūča-.]
Ash'ke·naz'ic (-nä'zĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ashkenazim 
(pl.) "central and northern European Jews" (as opposed to Sephardim, Jews of Spain and Portugal), 1839, from Heb. Ashkenazzim, pl. of Ashkenaz, eldest son of Gomer (Gen. x.3), also the name of a people mentioned in Jer. li.27 (perhaps akin to Gk. skythoi "Scythians"); in Middle Ages, applied to Germany.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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