[muh-rah-noh] 
| 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. |
| Mar·ra·no (mə-rä'nō) 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.] |