Etymology of the word Jew:

The name for the Jewish people in Hebrew is Yehudim (יהודים).

There are different views as to the origin of the English language word Jew. The most common view is that the Middle English word Jew is from the Old French giu, earlier juieu, from the Latin iudeus from the Greek Ιουδαίος. The Latin simply means Judaean, from the land of Judaea. There is some scholarly controversy over whether Judaea is a patronymic or if it was a purely geographic term of uncertain Semitic origin. If indeed it is patronymic, it corresponds to the Hebrew y'hudi (יהודי) (or yehudi) connected to Judah in English, a member of the Twelve Tribes of the Children of Israel, i.e., Jacob's sons. According to Genesis, Judah was the fourth son of the patriarch Jacob, from whom the tribe descended. The Old English equivalent was Iudeas, meaning "Judean".

Classical Rabbinic literature has a tradition which traces the word Jew to Genesis 29:35 [1] which says that Judah's mother — the matriarch Leah — named him Judah because she wanted to praise God for giving birth to so many sons: "She said, ' This time let me praise (odeh אודה) God (יהוה), ' and named the child Judah (Yehudah יהודה)." Thus combining "praise" and "God" into one new name.

Thereafter in the Biblical narrative, Judah vouchsafes the Jewish monarchy, and the Israelite kings David and Solomon derive their lineage from Judah. Indeed, there is the tradition that the "Judaeans" (יהודים) (Jews) are named for him, their ancient tribal ancestor.

In Hebrew, the name "Judah" (י ה ו [ד] ה) contains the four letters of the Tetragrammaton — the special, holy, and ineffable name of the Jewish God. The very holiness of the name of Judah attests to its importance as an alternate name for "Israelites" that it ultimately replaces.

A much less common view is that the word Jew is from Jewry, from the Greek Εβραίοι (evrei) meaning Hebrew, which some speculate comes from the ancient Egyptian hiberu or habiru, which meant stranger. Under the latter view, Abraham, Jacob/Israel and other patriarchs are regarded as Jews while under the former only the descendants (ethnically or physically) of the Judaeans from the Kingdom of Judah would be Jews, strictly speaking. In the Hebrew language the word "Hebrew", ivri (עברי), means "one who 'passes' over" as did the patriarch Abraham, referred to as "Abram the Hebrew" [2] (Genesis 14:13) who "passed over" from being a gentile to becoming a "convert" to the faith of Monotheism. Another theory is that this root is derived from the name of Eber (עבר) mentioned in Genesis 10:21 [3].

Ancient terminology

In some places in the Talmud the word Israel(ite) refers to somebody who is Jewish but does not necessarily practice Judaism as a religion: "An Israel(ite) even though he has sinned is still an Israel(ite)" (Tractate Sanhedrin 44a). More commonly the Talmud uses the term "Bnei Yisrael," the Children of Israel (another name for Jacob) to refer to Jews. According to the Talmud then, there is no distinction between "religious Jews" and "secular Jews." In modern English, the term "Israelite" is never used to refer to contemporary Jews, but can be used to refer to Jews of the Biblical era. The Jews of today's State of Israel are called Israelis and do not call themselves "Israelites".

Usage by non-Jews

The term "Israelite," has also been appropriated by various non-Jewish groups, for example the Rastafarians, who claim descent from the tribes of Israel.

The word "Jew" has been used often enough in a disparaging manner by anti-Semites that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was frequently avoided altogether, and the term "Hebrew" was substituted instead (e.g. Young Mens Hebrew Association). Even today some people are wary of its use, and prefer to use "Jewish". Indeed, when used as an adjective (e.g. "Jew lawyer") or verb (e.g. "to Jew someone"), the term "Jew" is purely pejorative. However, when used as a noun, "Jew" is preferred, as other circumlocutions give the impression that the term "Jew" is offensive in all contexts.

In the past, the term Jewess was sometimes used for Jewish women. This word, like "Negress" or "poetess" is now at best an archaism, and is generally taken as an insult. However, some modern Jewish women have reclaimed the term Jewess and use it proudly.