Sephardi

noun

Se·​phar·​di sə-ˈfär-dē How to pronounce Sephardi (audio)
plural Sephardim sə-ˈfär-dəm How to pronounce Sephardi (audio)
: a member of the occidental branch of European Jews settling in Spain and Portugal and later in the Balkans, the Levant, England, the Netherlands, and the Americas
also : one of their descendants compare ashkenazi
Sephardic adjective

Examples of Sephardi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Two Jewish names inscribed in Arabic on the device—Ishaq and Yunus, or Isaac and Jonah—suggest the astrolabe once circulated within a Sephardi community in Spain. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024 The names could be the Jewish names Isaac and Jonah written in Arabic, which Gigante said suggests the tool was used in a Sephardi Jewish community in Spain, where Arabic was spoken. Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024 Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a former member of Israel's Knesset, wrote a letter addressed to Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, and Rabbi David Lau, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, calling for unified prayer for the sake of the country, reported the website Israel365. Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 4 Nov. 2023 Isabelle Lira, a Sephardi heiress and businesswoman, is on a quest for a husband. Olivia Waite, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2023 Ashkenazi and many Sephardi families eschew roasted lamb in deference to the destruction of the Second Temple in ancient Jerusalem, where lambs were traditionally sacrificed on the eve of Passover. Leah Koenig, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023 Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Sephardi party Shas, will serve as interior minister and minister of health. Rob Picheta, CNN, 29 Dec. 2022 An Ashkenazi + Sephardi cluster, a Mizrachi cluster, and finally, a, Yemeni cluster. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Jan. 2011 The community grew over the centuries — most notably with the arrival of Sephardi Jews from Spain and Sicily in the wake of the Spanish Inquisition. Leah Koenig, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Late Hebrew sĕphāradhī, from sĕphāradh Spain, from Hebrew, region where Jews were once exiled (Obadiah 1:20)

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Sephardi was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near Sephardi

Cite this Entry

“Sephardi.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Sephardi. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

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