Ashkenazi

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Pronunciations

Ashkenazi (AHSH-kih-NAH-zee) listen

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Definitions

  • n. (plural: 'Ashkenazim') Jews with recent ancestry in the Diaspora of Northern and Eastern Europe.

  • adj. Of or relating to the culture, customs, or ancestry of Jews with recent ancestry in the Diaspora of Northern and Eastern Europe.

Example Sentences

  • "Most Ashkenazim have a deep affinity for Ashkenazi food." (Glinert)

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  • "Ashkenazim generally don't eat rice and legumes on Pesach, while Sephardim do." (JPS)

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • אשכנזי ashkenazi 'from Ashkenaz'; medieval rabbis called Germany Ashkenaz, based on a passage in Jeremiah (51:27), and thought that after the Flood, Noah's great-grandson, Ashkenaz, settled in Germany

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

      Alternative Spellings

      Ashkenazim, Ashkenazis, Ashkenazees, Ashkenazeem

Notes

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