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Definition 2024

Goy

Goy

See also: goy, göy, gøy, and goþ

English

Noun

Goy ‎(plural Goyim)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of goy

Anagrams

goy

goy

See also: Goy, göy, gøy, and goþ

English

Alternative forms

Noun

goy ‎(plural goyim or goys or goyem)

  1. A non-Jew, a gentile.
    • 1988, Anthony Burgess, Any Old Iron:
      I don’t think that marriage is working, but I’m not going to be stupid about it and say she shouldn’t have married a goy.

Usage notes

This noun is sometimes taken to be offensive; speakers wishing to avoid offense may prefer the term gentile (sometimes capitalized as Gentile) or simply non-Jew.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Portuguese

Noun

goy m f (plural goys)

  1. Alternative spelling of gói

Etymology

Borrowing from Yiddish גוי ‎(goy, “gentile”), from Hebrew גּוֹי ‎(goi, “nation”).

Compare Exodus 19:6: ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש ‎(mamlekhet kohanim wegoy qadosh, “ […] a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”) (referring to the Jewish people). The word goy technically refers not to non-Jews, but rather to a nation per se; the Jews are said to constitute a “goy”. But through common usage – namely referring to "the [other non-Jewish] nations" – the word came to colloquially refer to non-Jews.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡɔɪ/
  • Rhymes: -ɔɪ

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