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

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

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

She at once addressed herself to the reigning Sultan, Solyman the Magnificent, and entreated his intervention, on the ground that the Marrano Jews in Ancona were for the most part Turkish subjects.

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

Portugal fell to a Marrano physician who had escaped from the Inquisition.

From Dreamers of the Ghetto by Israel Zangwill

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 secrecy is senseless, in a way. since most of their neighbors know that the Marranos are Jews.

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

Judah died before the expulsion from Spain, but his son Solomon participated in the final troubles of the Spanish Jews, and was even forced to join the ranks of the Marranos.

From Chapters on Jewish Literature by Israel Abrahams