a member or descendant of any of a group of ancient N Semitic peoples, esp an Israelite
the Semitic language of the ancient Hebrews, or the revived form of it spoken in modern Israel
offensive a Jew
Hebrew adj
Middle English Ebreu via Old French and Latin from Greek Hebraios, from Aramaic ‘Ebrai. Words from the ancient Hebrew language that have passed into English, mostly through their use in the Bible, include amen, cherub, jubilee, manna, rabbi, sabbath, and shibboleth. Modern Hebrew has provided a few loanwords, such as kibbutz. Other words of Hebrew origin have entered English by way of Yiddish (e.g. chutzpah and kosher)