Ashkenazi

American  

[ahsh-kuh-nah-zee] / ˌɑʃ kəˈnɑ zi /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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Etymology

Origin of Ashkenazi

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

Example Sentences

Rabbi Levine leads the Jewish Center in New York and is author of “Hakham Tsevi Ashkenazi and the Battlegrounds of the Early Modern Rabbinate.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

A descendant of Turkish and Ashkenazi Jews, Neil Sedaka was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on March 13, 1939.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

The American turn to monolingualism did not occur until after the Civil War, when new immigrants from southern and eastern Europe began to arrive in large numbers: Italians, Poles, Greeks and Ashkenazi Jews.

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026

Yiddish, the language spoken by Ashkenazi Jews across Europe before the Holocaust, is now perhaps best known to many English speakers through words such as "schlep", "klutz" and "chutzpah".

From Barron's • Oct. 26, 2025

“Need I remind you, I don’t know deep-cut Ashkenazi stuff; it’s not my thing. Like, I barely understand kugel. Is it a dessert or a side dish? Is it noodles or is it cheesecake?”

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny