of or relating to the Jews of Germany and E Europe
2.
a Jew of German or E European descent
3.
the pronunciation of Hebrew used by these Jews
Compare Sephardi
Word origin
C19: Late Hebrew, from Hebrew Ashkenaz, the son of Gomer (Genesis 10:3; I Chronicles 1:6), a descendant of Noah through Japheth,and hence taken to be identified with the ancient Ascanians of Phrygia and, in themedieval period, the Germans
a member of the group of Jews that, after the Diaspora, settled in central, northern, and, later, eastern Europe and developed Yiddish as their spoken language
2.
a descendant of this group
see also Sephardi
Derived forms
Ashkenazic (ˌAshkeˈnazic)
adjective
Word origin
Heb, a German Jew; earlier, a German, after ashkenaz, name of an ancient kingdom (see Jer. 51:27), after ashkenaz, second son of Gomer (see Gen. 10:3); prob. akin to Akkadian ishkuzai (> Gr Skythoi, the Scythians)