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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Marranos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of Marrano

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Marrano Marranos

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 Israel Abrahams

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 Israel Abrahams

This is the prologue to the thrilling Marrano tragedy.

From Jewish History : an essay in the philosophy of history by S. M. (Simon Markovich) Dubnow

The real author, whose place in Spanish literature is assured, was Antonio Enriquez di Gomez, a Marrano, burnt in effigy at Seville after his escape from the clutches of the Inquisition.

From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Gustav Karpeles

A decade later a similar attempt was made by Fernando Mendes da Costa, one of the founders of the Anglo-Jewish Community, and a member of a very distinguished Portuguese Marrano family.

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

The Marranos were the Jews that converted to Christianity but continued to practice Judaism in the cellar.

From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2017

In the 1920s, Army Captain Artur Carlos de Barros Basto, a descendant of Marranos, converted to Judaism and helped establish a synagogue and seminary in Oporto.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Marranos shun all Saturday work, a telltale sign of their identity, but paradoxically, most of the men have not been circumcised because that could disclose their secret.

From Time Magazine Archive

Like Marranos, they kept their faith in secret even after the official freedom of religion was proclaimed.

From Time Magazine Archive

Could they have been genuine converts, these Marranos, or New Christians? he asked himself.

From Dreamers of the Ghetto by Israel Zangwill

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