Etymograph

English

Jew

Jew comes from Latin iūdaeus ‘Judean (i.e. Jew)’, and goes back to Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה ‘male given name, Yehuda’.

  1. Biblical Hebrewc. 1000–200 BCEיְהוּדָה1y'hudá‘male given name, Yehuda’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἸουδά1
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἸουδαῖος1Ioudaîos‘Jew or Judean’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdaeus1‘Judean (i.e. Jew)’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400juiu1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Jew1
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598Jew1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English Jew
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew…”.

Lineage

  1. Biblical Hebrewc. 1000–200 BCEיְהוּדָהWiktionary, English Jewy'hudá‘male given name, Yehuda’
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἸουδάWiktionary, English Jew
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἸουδαῖοςWiktionary, English JewIoudaîos‘Jew or Judean’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiūdaeusWiktionary, English Jew‘Judean (i.e. Jew)’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400juiuWiktionary, English Jew
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500JewWiktionary, English Jew
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598JewWiktionary, English Jew. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew…”

The story

Jew)”), from Ancient Greek Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaîos), from Ἰουδά (Ioudá), Ἰούδας (Ioúdas, “Judah, Judas, Jude”) + -ιος (-ios, suffix forming adjectives), from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה (y'hudá, “male given name, Yehuda; Judah, Judea”).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה

Today it means

noun An adherent of Judaism.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “Jew”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה / Jew

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