Jewess

[ joo-is ]

/ ˈdʒu ɪs /

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noun Older Use: Usually Offensive.

a term used to refer to a Jewish girl or woman.

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Origin of Jewess

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jewesse; see origin at Jew, -ess

usage note for Jewess

First used in the Middle Ages, the term Jewess has been an inoffensive, neutral term for most of its history. With the advent of the civil rights and feminist movements of the 1960s, it began to be considered condescending and has since declined in use. See also -ess.

Words nearby Jewess

jeweller, jeweller's rouge, jewellery, jewelry, jewelweed, Jewess, Jewett, jewfish, jewie, Jewish, Jewish American Princess

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Jewess in a sentence

So, why no Jewess in the mix of more recent and diverse Miss Americas?
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America?|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
At the back we had some of those steel cupboards where we kept our stock and I put the Jew and the Jewess in there!
‘Soldaten: Secret WWII Transcripts of German POWs’ by Soenke Neitzel & Harald Welzer|Sönke Neitzel, Harald Welzer|September 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I have committed the sin of the flesh with an unclean Jewess, I am damned without your grace!
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman|Eugne Sue
It makes the young Jew ashamed of the young Jewess; it makes her ashamed of the young Jew.
The Romany Rye|George Borrow

I remember in particular a vivid-looking, much-jewelled Jewess, who was minus money and passport.
Eastern Nights - and Flights|Alan Bott
To be born a Jewess was a distinction for Emma Lazarus, and she in turn conferred distinction upon her race.
The Poems of Emma Lazarus|Emma Lazarus
Rebecca's knowledge of the healing art had been acquired under an aged Jewess, the daughter of a celebrated doctor.
The Mysteries of All Nations|James Grant

British Dictionary definitions for Jewess

Jewess

/ (ˈdʒuːɪs) /

noun

often offensive a Jewish girl or woman

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012