English
Jewess
Jewess comes from Middle English Jewesse ‘a female Jew’, and goes back to Old French juiesse.
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400juiesse
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Jewesse‘a female Jew’
- Englishearliest quotation 1920Jewess
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400juiesse
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500Jewesse‘a female Jew’
- Englishearliest quotation 1920Jewess
Earliest quotation: 1920, Winston Churchill: “And the prominent, if not indeed the principal, part…”
Formed from Jew + -ess
Biblical Hebrew יְהוּדָה ‘male given name, Yehuda’
…
Ancient Greek Ἰουδαῖος ‘Jew or Judean’
Latin iūdaeus ‘Judean (i.e. Jew)’
Old French juiu
Middle English Jew
English Jew
Every English word from Old French juiesse
Today it means
noun A female Jew.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old French juiesse / Jewess