Jew
/dʒuː/
noun
Origin
Hebrew
יְהוּדָה (Yehuda) — Judah (the name of the fourth son of Jacob and the tribe/kingdom descended from him)
Overview
Meaning Now
- A member of the people and cultural community whose traditional religion is Judaism and who trace their origins to the ancient Israelite people.
- A person who follows the religion of Judaism.
Literal older meaning
Person from Judah
Language path
Hebrew → Aramaic → Ancient Greek → Latin → Old French → Middle English → English
Earliest form
giu
Earliest period
12th century
Journey
The term originated from the name of the Kingdom of Judah. Following the Babylonian exile, the term 'Yehudi' came to identify all Israelites, rather than just members of the tribe of Judah, eventually becoming the primary ethnonym for the people.
Evolution
- Biblical Hebrew
יְהוּדִי (Yehudi)
“member of the tribe or kingdom of Judah”
- Koine Greek
Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios)
“Judean; Jewish”
- Old French
giu
“Jew”
- Middle English
iue
“Jew”
Connections
Word parts
Yehud
root
Judah
-i
suffix
pertaining to; inhabitant of
Related across languages
Spanish
judío
Jew
French
juif
Jew
German
Jude
Jew
Explore next
Related to Jew
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.