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jew down

 - 2 dictionary results

Jew

  [joo]
Use jew down in a Sentence
–noun
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.
–adjective
4. Offensive. of Jews; Jewish.
–verb (used with object)
5. (lowercase) Offensive. to bargain sharply with; beat down in price (often fol. by down).
Origin:
1125–75; ME jewe, giu, gyu, ju < OF juiu, juieu, gyu < LL judēus, L jūdaeus < Gk ioudaîos < Aram yehūdāi < Heb Yəhūdhī, deriv. of Yəhūdhāh Judah; r. OE iūdēas Jews < LL jūdē(us) + OE -as pl. ending
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

jew  (v.)
"to cheat, to drive a hard bargain," 1824, from Jew (n.) (cf. gyp, welsh, etc.). The campaign to eliminate it in early 20c. was so successful that people began to avoid the noun and adj., too, and started using Hebrew instead.
"Now I'll say 'a Jew' and just the word Jew sounds like a dirty word and people don't know whether to laugh or not." [Lenny Bruce (1925–1966)]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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