jew

jew · verb, noun¹

Transferred use of Jew.

Jew · noun, proper noun, adjective, verb²

1. Biblical Hebrew · derived fromיְהוּדָה“male given name, Yehuda; Judah, Judea”
2. Ancient Greek · derived fromἸουδαῖος
3. Latin · derived fromiūdaeus“Judean (i.e. Jew)”
4. Old French · derived fromjuiu
5. Middle English · inherited fromJew
6. English todayJew

From Middle English Jew, Giu, Giw, Ju, from Old French juiu, Giu, gyu, from Latin iūdaeus (“Judean (i.e. Jew)”), from Ancient Greek Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos), from Ἰουδά (Ioudá), Ἰούδας (Ioúdas, “Judah, Judas, Jude”) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives), from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (y'hudá, “male given name, Yehuda; Judah, Judea”). Doublet of Yid. The ending -ew underwent a similar evolution to that seen in Hebrew (ultimately from Latin Hebraeus) and Bartholomew (from Latin Bartholomaeus), albeit with loss of the -ud-. Displaced Old English Iūdēisċ.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 19th c. The jewfish.