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Gentile (/ ˈ dʒ ɛ n t aɪ l /) is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. [1] [2] Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term gentile to describe outsiders. [3] [4] [5] More rarely, the term is used as a synonym for heathen, pagan. [5]
Gentile derives from Latin 'Gentes/Gentilis' a word which originally meant "people" or "tribe" but which evolved in the early Christian era to refer to a non-Jew. In Judaism the word 'Goy' (see below) followed the same journey over the same period: also evolving from meaning "nation" or "tribe" to mean non-Jew.
But the word "goy" has too much historical and linguistic baggage to be used as casually as "non-Jew" or "gentile." It starts with the obvious slurs – like "goyishe kopf," or gentile brains, which suggests (generously) a dullard, or "shikker iz a goy," a gentile is a drunkard.
Gentile" is a word with several meanings; in contemporary usage, it usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Gentile may also refer to: People.
Shiksa (Yiddish: שיקסע, romanized: shikse) is an often disparaging [1] term for a gentile [a] woman or girl. The word, which is of Yiddish origin, has moved into English usage and some Hebrew usage (as well as Polish and German ), mostly in North American Jewish culture .
Historically, in the Koine Greek Septuagint and New Testament, the word proselyte denoted a Gentile who was considering conversion to Judaism. [ citation needed ] Although the word proselytism originally referred to converting to Judaism [ 11 ] (and earlier related to Gentiles such as God-fearers ), it now implies an attempt of any religion or ...
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A demonym (/ ˈ d ɛ m ə n ɪ m /; from Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos) 'people, tribe' and ὄνυμα (ónuma) 'name') or gentilic (from Latin gentilis 'of a clan, or gens') [1] is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. [2]