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Webster 1913 Edition


Jew

Jew

(jū or jṳ; 277)
,
Noun.
[OF.
Juis
, pl., F.
Juif
, L.
Judaeus
, Gr.
Ἰουδαῖος
, fr.
Ἰουδαία
the country of the Jews, Judea, fr. Heb.
Yĕhūdāh
Judah, son of Jacob. Cf.
Judaic
.]
1.
Originally, one belonging to the tribe or kingdom of Judah; after the return from the Babylonish captivity, any member of the new state; a Hebrew; an Israelite.

Webster 1828 Edition


Jew

JEW

,
Noun.
[a contraction of Judas of Judah.] A Hebrew or Israelite.

Definition 2024


Jew

Jew

See also: jew

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: jo͞o, IPA(key): /dʒuː/
  • Rhymes: -uː

Noun

Jew (plural Jews)

  1. An adherent of Judaism.
    I don't have a religion, but my sister is a Jew and my brother is a Wiccan.
  2. A person who claims a cultural or ancestral connection to the Jewish people (see secular Jew).
    • William Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice (Act III, scene I)
      Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs
      dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with
      the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject
      to the same diseases, heal'd by the same means,
      warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer
      as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
      If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us,
      do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?
  3. (pejorative) A miserly or greedy person; a spendthrift; a cheapskate.
    • 2010, Matthew S. Hiley, Hubris Falls, p. 111:
      “Jesus, Williams, you're such a Jew,” Jimmy said in an annoyed, high-pitched tone. “Have you ever just paid a check, or do you always make an ass of yourself?”
Usage notes

The Jewish community overall has a common religion, culture, identity, and ethnicity, but individual Jews do not necessarily share all of these; therefore, a person might be a Jew by one standpoint but not by another. Additionally, there are some religious groups that identify themselves as part of Judaism, but that other Jewish groups might not; hence, use of the term Jew often depends on the speaker's opinions.

The noun Jew is not offensive, and the overwhelming majority of English-speaking Jews use the noun Jew to identify themselves. That said, it has become offensive for historical reasons to use the word Jew attributively, in modifying another noun (as in "Jew lawyer"); the adjective Jewish is preferred for this purpose. Additionally, the derived verbs jew and jew down are considered offensive, as they reflect stereotypes considered offensive.

Hypernyms
Coordinate terms
Synonyms
Hyponyms
Translations
Derived terms

Verb

Jew (third-person singular simple present Jews, present participle Jewing, simple past and past participle Jewed)

  1. (offensive) Alternative letter-case form of jew

Etymology 2

Uncertain, see Jew's harp for more.

Adjective

Jew (not comparable)

  1. (used in certain set phrases like Jew's harp, Jew's harpist and Jew's-trump)

jew

jew

See also: Jew

English

Alternative forms

Verb

jew (third-person singular simple present jews, present participle jewing, simple past and past participle jewed)

  1. (offensive) To bargain, to attempt to gain an unfair price in a business deal; to defraud.

Related terms

Etymology 2

Phrase

jew

  1. Pronunciation spelling of d' you, representing colloquial English.
  2. Pronunciation spelling of 'd you, representing colloquial English.

Etymology 3

Uncertain, see Jew's harp for more.

Adjective

jew (not comparable)

  1. (used only in certain set phrases like jew harp)

Maltese

Etymology

From Arabic أَوْ (ʾaw).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /jɛw/

Conjunction

jew

  1. or
    • "Joe Mizzi ma jeskludix li tinbena l-infrastruttura għall-'monorail' jew ferrovija", in iNew Malta, 20 November 2015.
      Il-Ministru għat-Trasport u l-Infrastruttura Joe Mizzi ma eskludiex il-possibiltà li f'Malta tinbena l-infrastruttura għall-monorail jew ferrovija.
      Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Joe Mizzi didn't rule out the possibility that monorail or railway infrastructure be built in Malta.
  2. else