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Ash·ke·naz·i

(äsh′kə-näzē)

n. pl. Ash·ke·naz·im (-năzĭm, -näzĭm)

A member of the branch of European Jews, historically Yiddish-speaking, who settled in central and eastern Europe.

[Medieval Hebrew 'aškənāzî, from 'aškənaz, Germany, adoption of Hebrew 'aškənaz, 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-.]

Ash′ke·nazic (-näzĭk) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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