Sephardim

[ suh-fahr-dim, -fahr-deem ]

/ səˈfɑr dɪm, -fɑrˈdim /

plural noun, singular Se·phar·di [suh-fahr-dee, suh-fahr-dee] /səˈfɑr di, sə fɑrˈdi/.

Jews of Spain and Portugal or their descendants, distinguished from the Ashkenazim and other Jewish communities chiefly by their liturgy, religious customs, and pronunciation of Hebrew: after expulsion from Spain and Portugal in 1492, established communities in North Africa, the Balkans, Western Europe, and elsewhere.

Origin of Sephardim

1850–55; < Modern Hebrew Səphāraddīm, plural of Səphāraddī, equivalent to < Hebrew Səphāradh (region mentioned in Bible (Obadiah 20) and assumed to be Spain) + -ī suffix of appurtenance

Related formsSe·phar·dic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sephardic

Her words were warmly received by the Speaker of the Knesset, a politician from Shas, the Sephardic ultra-Orthodox party.
Religion And State In Ruth Calderon's Knesset Speech|Zachary Braiterman|February 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The decisive faction here might be the Shas party, which represents the large Sephardic population.
Israel’s Religious Zionist Vs. Ultra-Orthodox Rift|Rabbi Daniel Landes|February 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His daughter was to be married under the Sephardic canopy, and no jot of synagogual honour was to be bated the bridegroom.
The King of Schnorrers|Israel Zangwill
Ten congregations at least were soon formed here, the most of Sephardic origin.
History of the Jews, Vol. IV (of VI)|Heinrich Graetz

Word Origin and History for sephardic

Sephardim

plural of Sephardi "a Spanish or Portuguese Jew" (1851), from Modern Hebrew Sepharaddim "Spaniards, Jews of Spain," from Sepharad, name of a country mentioned only in Obad. v:20, probably meaning "Asia Minor" or a part of it (Lydia, Phrygia), but identified by the rabbis after the Jonathan Targum as "Spain." Related: Sephardic.