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Jewess

Jewess

4 9.9
A woman who is Jewish, now often seen as old-fashioned or offensive
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒuː.ɛs/
  • Slur
: judía (antiguo, ofensivo)
  • While visiting the exhibit, I learned about the life of a brave Jewess who fought for her people's rights.

And one storyline was with the Jewess.

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Examples

  • The restaurant was owned by a lovely Jewess who served delicious traditional dishes.

  • Out of all of the clothes, she chose a dress that belonged to some little Jewess half her size.

  • They would never have allowed it- my brother was married to a Jewess.

  • For a moment, she recalled the wedding of her friend Rachel Rojas, the Jewess...

    Fiction book (1994)
  • And I easily convinced myself, then and there, that Joop Heman was in love with the Jewess he painted.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The contrast between Isaac and his daughter, Rebecca, highlights the different treatment that Jew and Jewess have received in literature.

    Academic text (2012)
  • "Michelle does seem to have the hospitality of a Jewess," one of our bitchy great-aunts had admitted.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • In the novel, the Jewess was portrayed as a strong character who overcame many challenges.

Synonyms

Jew
vsJewess
∞ 2.4

A person who follows the religion Judaism or has Jewish ancestors

is the female form often seen as old fashioned or offensive
Orthodox Jew
vsJewess
13 4.2

A person who strictly follows the traditional religious laws of Judaism

is a gender label that does not describe religious practice
Hebrew
vsJewess
4 7.2

A member of the ancient people now known as the Jews

is a modern female label not mainly a historical or biblical term
Sephardic Jew
vsJewess
1 7.1

A person of Jewish background whose family comes from Spain, Portugal, or North Africa

is a general female label not tied to ancestry or region
Conservative Jew
vsJewess
1 5.1

A person who keeps some Jewish laws but adapts others for modern life

is a gender label rather than a description of belief or practice

How Offensive

shiksa
  • Slur
7 9.9
Jewess
  • Slur
4 9.9

Surface Forms

Jewess singular
Jewesses plural

Morphology

Jewess = Jew (transparent) = Jew + ess

Formation is directly 'Jew' + '-ess' indicating female; the derivation is morphologically clear though the term is now often considered old-fashioned or offensive.

Etymology

Jewess comes from Jew plus the ending -ess, which means 'female' and is the same ending you see in actress or waitress. So it originally meant a woman who is Jewish, but today many people find Jewess old-fashioned or offensive and prefer 'Jewish woman' or 'Jew'.