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

Etymology

Origin of Marrano

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Marrano Marranos

Burning to punish the Marrano, or apostate Moor, as he called Alexander, Giuliano stirred the king with taunts and menaces until Charles felt he could delay his march no longer.

From Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7) The Age of the Despots by John Addington Symonds

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

With equal force it dominated the being of Solomon Molcho, the enthusiastic youth who, at one time a Marrano, on his public return to Judaism proclaimed the speedy regeneration of Israel.

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

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

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

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

From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2017

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

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

The proscribed, in the guise of Marranos, and under the hospitable shelter of their new homes, could not be banished from literary Spain, even in its newest departures.

From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Gustav Karpeles