Ashkenazim
[ ahsh-kuh-nah-zim ]
/ ˌɑʃ kəˈnɑ zɪm /
plural noun, singular Ash·ke·naz·i [ahsh-kuh-nah-zee] /ˌɑʃ kəˈnɑ zi/.
Jews of central and eastern Europe, or their descendants, distinguished from the Sephardim chiefly by their liturgy, religious customs, and pronunciation of Hebrew.
Origin of Ashkenazim
1830–40; < post-Biblical Hebrew
ashkənazzīm, plural of
ashkənazzī, equivalent to
ashkənaz
Ashkenaz +
-ī suffix of appurtenance
OTHER WORDS FROM Ashkenazim
Ash·ke·naz·ic, adjectiveBritish Dictionary definitions for ashkenazi
Ashkenazi
/ (ˌæʃkəˈnɑːzɪ) /
noun plural -zim (-zɪm)
(modifier)
of or relating to the Jews of Germany and E Europe
a Jew of German or E European descent
the pronunciation of Hebrew used by these Jews
Compare
Sephardi
Word Origin for Ashkenazi
C19: Late Hebrew, from Hebrew
Ashkenaz, the son of Gomer (Genesis 10:3; I Chronicles 1:6), a descendant of Noah through Japheth, and hence taken to be identified with the ancient Ascanians of Phrygia and, in the medieval period, the Germans