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goy

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Goy, göy, gøy, and goþ

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Goundo with y as a placeholder.

Symbol

goy

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Goundo.

See also

English

WOTD – 15 April 2016
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

Etymology

Etymology tree
Biblical Hebrew גּוֹי (goi)bor.
Yiddish גוי (goy)bor.
English goy

    Borrowed from Yiddish גוי (goy, “gentile”), borrowed from Biblical Hebrew גּוֹי (goi, “nation”).

    The term goy does not technically refer to non-Jews, but rather to a nation per se; the Jews are said to constitute a goy. But through common usage – namely referring to "the [other non-Jewish] nations" – the word came to colloquially refer to non-Jews. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term. Particularly: “Clarification needed.”

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    goy (plural goyim or goys or goyem or goyin)

    1. (sometimes offensive) A non-Jew, a gentile.
      Synonyms: gentile, non-Jew, akum, (pejorative) shegetz, (pejorative) shkotz
      Hyponym: (female) shiksa
      • 1988, Anthony Burgess, Any Old Iron:
        I don’t think that marriage is working, but I’m not going to be stupid about it and say she shouldn’t have married a goy.
    2. (neo-Nazism, derogatory) Synonym of shabbos goy (“a gentile thought to be subservient to Jewish people”)

    Usage notes

    • This noun is sometimes taken to be offensive; speakers wishing to avoid offense may prefer the term gentile (sometimes capitalized as Gentile) or simply non-Jew.
    • The plural goyim is occasionally misinterpreted as a singular form by people unfamiliar with Hebrew, yielding the redundant plural form goyims.

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • → Japanese: ゴイ (goi)
    • → Portuguese: goy

    Translations

    See also

    • goyazite (probably etymologically unrelated)

    Anagrams

    Anguthimri

    Noun

    goy

    1. (Mpakwithi) buck wallaby

    References

    • Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 186

    Cebuano

    Etymology

    Clipped from migoy, diminutive of migo, from amigo.

    Noun

    goy

    1. (colloquial) buddy (Used to address a male friend.)

    Ladino

    Etymology

    From Hebrew גוי.

    Noun

    goy m (Hebrew spelling גוי, plural goyim, feminine goya)

    1. goy, gentile, non-Jew

    Further reading

    • Aitor García Moreno, editor (2013–), “goy, yá”, in Diccionario Histórico Judeoespañol (in Spanish), CSIC
    • Aitor García Moreno, editor (2013–), “goyim”, in Diccionario Histórico Judeoespañol (in Spanish), CSIC

    Malay

    Etymology

    Apocopic form of goyang

    Adjective

    goy (comparative lebih goy, superlative paling goy)

    1. (slang) nervous, afraid
      Synonyms: gentar (formal), takut (common)
      Kau goy ke nak lawan dengan dia?
      Are you afraid to fight with him?

    Portuguese

    Etymology 1

    Etymology tree
    Biblical Hebrew גּוֹי (goi)bor.
    Yiddish גוי (goy)bor.
    English goyubor.
    Portuguese goy

      Unadapted borrowing from English goy.

      Noun

      goy m or f by sense (plural goys)

      1. alternative form of gói

      Etymology 2

      Possibly by influence from English guy, by association with gay.

      Noun

      goy m (plural goys)

      1. closeted gay man; a homosexual male who does not assume himself as such

      References

      • “goy”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026

      Spanish

      Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:
      Wikipedia es

      Etymology

      Borrowed from Yiddish גוי (goy, “gentile”), from Hebrew גּוֹי (goi, “nation”).

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /ˈɡoi/ [ˈɡoi̯]
      • Rhymes: -oi
      • Syllabification: goy

      Noun

      goy m or f by sense (plural goyim)

      1. (sometimes offensive) goy
        Synonym: gentil
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