Ashkenazi

[ahsh-kuh-nah-zee]

noun

plural

Ashkenazim 

1. a member of the diasporic Jewish population that settled in central and eastern Europe, distinguished from the Sephardim chiefly by liturgy, religious customs, and pronunciation of Hebrew.

   For the benefit of Ashkenazim using the book, variations are included where they are significantly different.

adjective

1. Also Ashkenazic of or relating to the diasporic Jewish population that settled in central and eastern Europe, or to the culture, liturgy, or variety of Hebrew used by these Jews.

   The melody is an adaptation of a South German chant sung in Ashkenazi synagogues during High Holy Days.

   Ashkenazi styles of cooking have influenced many other cuisines.

Ashkenazi

/ ˌæʃkəˈnɑːzɪ /

noun

1. (modifier) of or relating to the Jews of Germany and E Europe

2. a Jew of German or E European descent

3. the pronunciation of Hebrew used by these Jews

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ashkenazi¹

First recorded in 1830–40; from post-Biblical Hebrew ashkənazzīm, plural of ashkənazzī, equivalent to ashkənaz + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin; Ashkenaz

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ashkenazi¹

C19: Late Hebrew, from Hebrew Ashkenaz, the son of Gomer (Genesis 10:3; I Chronicles 1:6), a descendant of Noah through Japheth, and hence taken to be identified with the ancient Ascanians of Phrygia and, in the medieval period, the Germans

Example Sentences

In May last year, her sister, Yamit Ashkenazi, penned an emotional letter through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, calling her "my sunshine".

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German Ashkenazi Jews settled there in the 1910s, and its borders became defined through redlining practices that withheld home loans from minority communities, including Jews.

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USC’s Jewish community is hardly a monolith, including Jews who are Persian, Israeli, Latino and Ashkenazi, who have more European roots.

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From this perspective, sauerkraut is a particular ecosystem shaped by German food traditions, kosher dill pickles by Ashkenazi Jewish traditions, and pao cai by southwestern Chinese traditions.

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A political action committee representing Asians and Pacific Islanders emailed the media slamming Kennedy’s speculation last year that the COVID-19 virus appeared to be “ethnically targeted,” sparing Chinese and Ashkenazi Jews.

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