Gentile

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈd͡ʒɛntaɪl/

Definitions

1. An individual who is not of Jewish descent or faith, often referring to members of other ethnic or cultural groups outside the Jewish community
2. A member of a community or population that is not Jewish, typically used to describe those from other religious or ethnic backgrounds outside Judaism
3. A person who does not belong to the Jewish religion or ethnic group

Etymology: The sense we now use, "not Jewish," is a narrowing of a much broader idea. Latin "gentilis" meant simply "of the same clan or nation," and it was applied to anyone outside one's own people. Among Jews, and then in Christian usage drawn from the Hebrew Bible, the word came to describe the nations as a whole, all those who were not part of the chosen people. In this sense it was a neutral label for outsiders rather than a term of contempt, though it certainly carried that sense of "other." The word reached English by way of French "gentil," which had the same Latin ancestor. That family tree also gave English some surprising relatives. "Gentle," "genteel," and "jaunty" are doublets of the same root, and "Gentoo," a historical term for Hindus, is another. All of them descend from "gens," the Latin word for a clan or family. Some of these words wandered far from the idea of an outsider; "gentle" came to mean well-born and refined, and "genteel" followed the same path.

Synonyms: non-Jew, gentiles, pagan, heathen, outsider

Antonyms: Jew, Israelite, Hebrew, chosen one, member