a Jew of Spanish, Portuguese, or North African descent
b.
(loosely) any Oriental Jew
2.
the pronunciation of Hebrew used by these Jews, and of Modern Hebrew as spoken in Israel
3. (modifier)
of or pertaining to the Sephardim, esp to their liturgy and ritual
4. (modifier)
of or pertaining to the liturgy adopted by certain European, esp Chassidic, communities who believe it to be more authentic but nonetheless differing from the genuine Oriental liturgy
Compare Ashkenazi
Derived forms
Sephardic (Seˈphardic)
adjective
Word origin
C19: from Late Hebrew, from Hebrew sepharad a region mentioned in Obadiah 20, thought to have been Spain
Sephardim in American English
(səˈfɑːrdɪm, -fɑːrˈdim)
plural nounWord forms: singular-di (-di, -ˈdi)
Jews of Spain and Portugal or their descendants, distinguished from the Ashkenazim and other Jewish communities chiefly by their liturgy, religious customs, and pronunciation of Hebrew: after expulsion from Spain and Portugal in 1492, established communities in North Africa, the Balkans,Western Europe, and elsewhere
Derived forms
Sephardic
adjective
Word origin
[1850–55; ‹ ModHeb Səphāraddīm, pl. of səphāraddī, equiv. to ‹ Heb Səphāradh (region mentioned in Bible (Obadiah 20) and assumed to be Spain) + -ī suffix of appurtenance]This word is first recorded in the period 1850–55. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: clear-cut, ethos, ethylene, headhunting, muggins