Names of the Jewish people - Definition and Overview

Names of the Jewish people:

This article lists the names of the Jewish people in various linguistic contexts. See the article Jew and the Footnotes for etymological and other information. This article does not cover ethnic slurs.

Hebrew language

In the Hebrew language:

• יהודי, Yehudi¹, pl.: Yehudim
• עברי, Ivri², pl.: Ivrim or Ivriyim
• בני ישׂראל, Bnai Israel³

Yiddish language

In Yiddish:

• ייד, Yid¹, (pl.: Yidn)

Ancient Greek language

In Ancient Greek:

• Ιουδαιος, Ioudaios¹
• Evrei²

Ancient Egyptian language

In Ancient Egyptian:

• Possibly Habiru²; Ishrail (Israel, cf. Israel Stela)

Latin language

In Latin:

• Iudeus¹

English language

In English:

• Jews¹
• Hebrews²
• Israelites or Children of Israel³

Russian language

In Russian:

• Еврей, Yevrei²

Religious context

In religion:

• The People of the Book

No longer in use

• In the period preceding and during the British Mandate of Palestine, Jews who lived there were called (and also called themselves) Palestinian Jews or Palestinians, but after the emergence of Arab Palestinian nationalism in the 1920s and especially after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the term "Palestinians" came to be used almost exlusively for Palestinian Arabs. (See Definitions of Palestine:Palestinian and Zionism)

Anti-Semitic context

Anti-Semitic context:

• Frequently anti-Semites use words such as "Zionist" or "rootless cosmopolitan."

See also

• Etymology of the word Jew

Footnotes

• ¹ Yehudi, a "Judaean" or "from the land of Judea".
• ² Ivri, "one who passes over", a reference to the Biblical patriarch Abraham (or possibly Eber).
• ³ Israel, "one who has struggled with God", the name given to the Biblical patriarch Jacob.