Ashkenazi

See also: ashkenazi and ashkenazí

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew אַשְׁכְּנַזִּי ('ashk'nazí), from Biblical Hebrew אַשְׁכְּנַז (ʾaškənaz). The biblical Ashkenaz was the son of Gomer, the grandson of Japheth, and the great-grandson of Noah. Ashkenaz's descendants were identified with the Germans by medieval Jewish tradition. Ashkenaz was also the name used for the Rhine river, which was the starting point of central and eastern European settlement by Jews, who are thought to have arrived in the region from Italy, and then spread east as they fled violent oppression and followed more favorable ownership laws. By surface analysis, Ashkenaz +‎ -i.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌæʃkɪˈnɑːzi/, /ˌæʃkɪnəˈziː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɑːʃkɪˈnɑːzi/, /ˌɑːʃkɪnəˈziː/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Ash‧ke‧na‧zi

Adjective

Ashkenazi (comparative more Ashkenazi, superlative most Ashkenazi)

1. Of or relating to Jews of German origin, and their traditions, customs, and rituals. Their traditional vernacular is Yiddish, and they historically dominated Jewish life in Europe north of the Mediterranean, in contrast to the Sephardim.

   Synonym: Ashkenazic

   Hypernym: Jewish

   Hyponym: Ashkephardi

Translations

of, or relating to Jews of German origin

• Arabic: أَشْكِنَازِيّ (ʔaškināziyy)
• Catalan: asquenazita
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 阿什肯納茲猶太人 / 阿什肯纳兹犹太人

• Esperanto: aŝkenaza
• French: ashkénaze (fr)
• German: aschkenasisch (de)
• Greek: ασκενάζι m or f (askenázi)
• Hebrew: אַשְׁכְּנַזִּי (he) ('ashk'nazí)
• Hungarian: askenázi (hu)
• Italian: ashkenazita (it), askenazita
• Ladino: ashkenazi
• Persian: اشکنازی (aškenâzi)
• Polish: aszkenazyjski (pl), askenazyjski
• Portuguese: ashkenazi
• Russian: ашкена́зский (ru) (aškenázskij), ашкенази́йский (aškenazíjskij)
• Slovak: aškenázsky
• Spanish: asquenazí (es), askenazi
• Swedish: ashkenazisk (sv)
• Ukrainian: ашкеназійський (aškenazijsʹkyj), ашкена́зський (aškenázsʹkyj)
• Welsh: Ashcenasig
• Yiddish: אַשכּנזיש (ashkenazish)
• Zazaki: eşkenaz

Noun

Ashkenazi (plural Ashkenazim or Ashkenazis or Ashkenazi)

1. An Ashkenazi Jew.

   Hypernym: Jew

   Hyponym: Ashkephardi

Translations

Jew of German origin

• Arabic: أَشْكِنَازِيّ m (ʔaškināziyy)
• Catalan: asquenazita m or f
• Esperanto: aŝkenazo
• Finnish: aškenasi, aškenasijuutalainen
• French: ashkénaze (fr)
• German: Aschkenasi (de) m
• Greek: ασκενάζι m or f (askenázi)
• Hebrew: אַשְׁכְּנַזִּי (he) ('ashk'nazí)
• Italian: ashkenazita (it) m or f, askenazita m or f
• Ladino: ashkenazi
• Persian: اشکنازی (aškenâzi)
• Polish: aszkenazyjczyk m, aszkenazyjka f, askenazyjczyk m, askenazyjka f
• Portuguese: ashkenazi m or f
• Romanian: așkenaz
• Russian: ашкенази́ (ru) m or f (aškenazí), ашкена́з (ru) m (aškenáz)
• Slovak: Aškenáz m, Aškenázka f
• Swedish: ashkenazisk jude, ashkenaz (sv) c, askenas (sv) c
• Turkish: Aşkenaz (tr)
• Ukrainian: ашкена́з m (aškenáz)
• Welsh: Ashcenasi m or f
• Yiddish: אַשכּנזי m (ashkenazi)
• Zazaki: eşkenaz

Proper noun

Ashkenazi (plural Ashkenazis)

1. A surname from Hebrew.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Ashkenazi is the 40204^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 545 individuals. Ashkenazi is most common among White (95.96%) individuals.

Derived terms

• Ashke-Nazi
• Ashkenazic
• Ashkenazism
• Ashkenazize
• Ashkenormative
• Ashkenormativity
• Ashkephardi

See also

• Sephardi.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Ashkenazi”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 63.