Marrano

American  

[muh-rah-noh] / məˈrɑ noʊ /

noun

Marranos plural

1. a Spanish or Portuguese Jew who was converted to Christianity during the late Middle Ages, usually under threat of death or persecution, especially one who continued to adhere to Judaism in secret.

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Marrano British  

/ məˈrɑːnəʊ /

noun

1. a Spanish or Portuguese Jew of the late Middle Ages who was converted to Christianity, esp one forcibly converted but secretly adhering to Judaism

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Etymology

Origin of Marrano

< Spanish: literally, pig, from the Jewish law forbidding the eating of pork (probably < Arabic maḥram forbidden)

Example Sentences

Two writers of Marrano origin, wide as the poles asunder in gifts of mind and character, represented two aspects of the aspiration of the Jews towards a place in the wider world.

From Chapters on Jewish Literature by Abrahams, Israel

Burning to punish the Marrano, or apostate Moor, as he called Alexander, Giuliano stirred the king with taunts and menaces until Charles felt he could delay his march no longer.

From Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7) The Age of the Despots by Symonds, John Addington

She at once addressed herself to the reigning Sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, and entreated his intervention, on the ground that the Marrano Jews in Ancona were for the most part Turkish subjects.

From Notes on the Diplomatic History of the Jewish Question by Wolf, Lucien

Manasseh ben Israel was born in Lisbon of Marrano parents, who emigrated to Amsterdam a few years after their son's birth.

From Chapters on Jewish Literature by Abrahams, Israel

Portugal fell to a Marrano physician who had escaped from the Inquisition.

From Dreamers of the Ghetto by Zangwill, Israel