Sephardi

Pronunciations

Sephardi (suh-FAR-dee) listen
Sephardim (suh-far-DEEM) listen

Definitions

  • n. A Jew with heritage in the Iberian Peninsula before the Jewish expulsion.

  • adj. Of or relating to the culture, customs, or ancestry of Jews whose ancestors came from the Iberian Peninsula before the Jewish expulsion.

Example Sentences

  • "All Ashkenazim probably have fanishingly small traces of Sephardi genes, so much so that it's part of the standard Ashkenazi reference DNA. So whilst you might be a bit Sephardi, it won't show up in a DNA test unless you're more Sephardi than the average." (source)

  • "If she's marrying a Sefardi, then she'll have to take on all the Sefardi customs." (Glinert)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • English

Etymology

  • ספרד sefarád 'medieval Spain'

    • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements

      Regions

      • North America

      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).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      Sephardim, Sefardi, Sefardim, Sfardi

Notes

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