Jew (word) Jew (word) The English term Jew originates in the Biblical Hebrew word "Yehudi", meaning "from the Kingdom of Judah", or "Jew". It passed into Greek as "Ioudaios" and Latin as "Iudaeus", which evolved into the Old French "giu" after the letter "d" was dropped. A variety of related forms are found in early English from about the year 1000, including "Iudea", "Gyu", "Giu", "Iuu", "Iuw", and "Iew", which eventually developed into the modern word. According to the Book of Genesis, Judah (, "Yehudah") was the name of the fourth son of the patriarch Jacob. During the Exodus, the name was
Jew (word) following the Greek version, is "Iudaeus", and from these sources the term passed to other European languages. The Old French "giu", earlier "juieu", had elided (dropped) the letter "d" from the Latin "Iudaeus". The Middle English word "Jew" derives from Old English where the word is attested as early as 1000 in various forms, such as "Iudeas", "Gyu", "Giu", "Iuu", "Iuw", "Iew". The Old English name is derived from Old French. The modern French term is "juif". Most European languages have retained the letter "d" in the word for Jew. Etymological equivalents are in use in other languages, e.g., "Jude"