Sephardic
1
7.7
- noun
- /səˈfɑrdɪk/
:
sefardí
- A charming, rosy man, thick with the old Europe between the two wars, a musician born in Istanbul of Sephardic, Spanish-speaking parents.
Examples
-
Both my parents were Jewish—my mother arrogantly Ashkenazi, my father aggressively Sephardic.
Fiction book (1990) -
Many Sephardic families have maintained their traditions over centuries.
-
Over half of the Jewish population is Sephardic, mainly refugees from North Africa.
Academic text (2011) -
Even if it were, how would you explain that Tay Sachs disease is vastly more common among Ashkenazi Jews as opposed to Sephardic and other subgroups of Jews?
Blog text (34) -
This I heard from court personages, not Dr. Lopez, who I knew only a little; he didn't speak much with me because he was Sephardic from Spain and the queen's most favored physician, and I was Ashkenazi from Eastern Europe, so I thought he was my better, I think, also possibly because I was from theater people and not court.
Fiction book (1999) -
The conference focused on the history and culture of Sephardic Jews.
-
She identified as Sephardic, tracing her lineage back to Spain.
Synonyms
123
2.4
A person who follows the religion Judaism or has Jewish ancestors
1
7.1
A person of Jewish background whose family comes from Spain, Portugal, or North Africa
1
9.1
A Jewish person whose family comes from Spain, Portugal, or North Africa
Compounds
1
7.1
A person of Jewish background whose family comes from Spain, Portugal, or North Africa
Surface Forms
Morphology
Sephardic = Sephardic (opaque) = Sephard + ic
The noun is a substantivized use of the adjective 'Sephardic', but that adjective is itself historically opaque for most learners.
Etymology
Sephardic as a noun names a Jew whose family came from Spain or Portugal, and the word comes from the Hebrew name Sepharad, meaning 'Spain'. That's why a Sephardic person belongs to the Jewish community with roots in that area.