Antisemite

/ˌæntiːˈsɛmaɪt/ noun

Definition

A person who holds prejudiced or hostile views against Jewish people.

Etymology

From anti- (against) + Semite (a person of Semitic descent, from Sem, son of Noah in the Bible, from whom Semitic peoples were believed to descend). The term emerged in 19th-century Europe but referred to something much older—discrimination against Jews that goes back centuries.

Kelly Says

Antisemitism is actually a misnomer—Arabs are also Semitic people, but the term specifically targets Jews, showing how language can be deliberately misleading; the term persisted because it became the conventional way to describe anti-Jewish prejudice.

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