See Also:

Jew(1) (iou)



Jew noun. ME.

A person of Hebrew descent; a person whose religion is Judaism; Hist. an Israelite. ME.
Ashkenazic Jew, German Jew, Oriental Jew, Portuguese Jew, Russian Jew, Sephardic Jew, etc. Conservative Jew: see CONSERVATIVE adjective. Black Jew (a) an Indian or black person of Jewish descent; (b) = FALASHA. wandering Jew: see WANDERING ppl adjective.
A person who behaves in a manner formerly attributed to Jews; spec. a grasping or extortionate person, one who drives hard bargains. derog. & considered offensive. E16.
A pedlar. colloq. E19.
A ship's tailor. Nautical slang. E20.
Attrib. & comb.: In the sense 'Jewish', as Jew boy, Jew girl, Jew man (now usu. derog. & offensive). Special combs., as Jew-baiter a person who practises Jew-baiting; Jew-baiting systematic harrying or persecution of Jews; Jew-lizard a large Australian lizard, Amphibolurus barbatus, with spiny scales round the throat; Jew plum = OTAHEITE apple; Jew's apple (the fruit of) the eggplant, Solanum melongena; Jew's-ear [mistranslation of medieval Latin auricula Judae Judas's ear: so called from its shape and its frequent occurrence on the elder, the tree from which Judas Iscariot reputedly hanged himself] an edible cup-shaped fungus, Auricularia auricula-Judae, growing on the roots and trunks of trees; Jew's eye (a proverbial expression for) something valued highly; Jew's harp a musical instrument consisting of an elastic steel tongue, usu. of metal, fixed at one end to a small lyre-shaped frame, and bent at the other end at right angles, which is played by holding the frame between the teeth and striking the free end of the tongue with the finger; Jew's mallow (a) a jute-yielding plant, Corchorus olitorius, of the linden family, used as a pot-herb in Egypt, Syria, etc.; (b) a double-flowered ornamental shrub, Kerria japonica, of the rose family; Jews' stone, Jewstone [translating medieval Latin lapis Judaicus] (a) (now rare or obsolete) marcasite; (b) (now rare or obsolete) fossil sea urchin spines found in Syria, formerly used in medicine; (c) local a hard rock of uneven or difficult fracture; Jew's trump (now rare) = Jew's harp above.
? In medieval England Jews, though engaged in many pursuits, were particularly familiar as moneylenders, a profession debarred to Christians at this time by canon law. Thus the name 'Jew' came to be associated in the popular mind with the usury and extortionate practices associated with the medieval system of moneylending, and gave rise to the opprobrious sense 2 above.
Jewism noun (a) Judaism; (b) rare an idiom or characteristic of Jews: L16.
Jewy adjective (derog.) resembling or typical of a Jew or Jews; having characteristics attributed to Jewish people: E20.