- a member of the group of Jews that, after the Diaspora, settled in central, northern, and, later, eastern Europe and developed Yiddish as their spoken language
- a descendant of this group which has some traditions of ritual and prayer, culture and customs, and Hebrew pronunciation that differ from those of a Sephardi
Origin of AshkenaziHeb, a German Jew; earlier, a German, after ashkenaz, name of an ancient kingdom (see Jeremiah 51:27), after ashkenaz, second son of Gomer (see Genesis 10:3); probably akin to Akkadian ishkuzai (from source Classical Greek Skythoi, the Scythians)
A member of the branch of European Jews, historically Yiddish-speaking, who settled in central and eastern Europe.
Origin of AshkenaziMedieval Hebrew ’ašk&schwa;nāzî, from ’ašk&schwa;naz, Germany, adoption of Hebrew ’ašk&schwa;naz, name of one of Noah's grandsons and of a neighboring people, perhaps alteration of earlier *’aškûz, Scythians; akin to Akkadian ašguzai, iškuzai, from Old Persian Saka-, Skūča-.
(comparative more Ashkenazi, superlative most Ashkenazi)
- An Askhenazi Jew.