Amish

American  

[ah-mish, am-ish] / ˈɑ mɪʃ, ˈæm ɪʃ /

adjective

1. of or relating to any of the strict Mennonite groups, chiefly in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Canada, descended from the followers of Jakob Ammann, a Swiss Mennonite bishop of the 17th century.

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noun

1. the Amish people.

Amish British  

/ ˈɑːmɪʃ, ˈæ- /

adjective

1. of or relating to a US and Canadian Mennonite sect that traces its origin to Jakob Amman

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noun

1. the Amish people

Amish Cultural  

1. A group of Protestants who broke away from the Mennonites in the seventeenth century. The Amish live in close communities, farm for a living, and do without many modern conveniences, such as telephones, automobiles, and tractor-drawn plows.

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Discover More

Some of the Pennsylvania Dutch are Amish.

Etymology

Origin of Amish

1835–45, < German amisch, after Jakob Ammann; -ish ¹

Compare meaning

How does amish compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Amish vs. Mennonite

Example Sentences

In Lancaster County: In “Witness,” a police detective played by Harrison Ford is forced to hide in an Amish community to protect a boy who witnesses a murder.

From The Wall Street Journal

After high school, he said, he spent several years working on farms, including with the Amish in Lancaster, Pa.

From The Wall Street Journal

I wish I’d looked up what “Amish” means on the internet.

From Literature

Amish travelers have been using this route for decades, one of the men told me, on their way to and from doctors in Tijuana.

From Los Angeles Times

It is a pastoral place where drivers watch for Amish buggies at dusk and a Union soldier monument anchors the town square.

From The Wall Street Journal