Goy
Word meaning 'non-Jew' / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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In modern Hebrew and Yiddish, goy (/ɡɔɪ/; גוי, pl.: goyim /ˈɡɔɪ.ɪm/, גוים or גויים) is a term for a gentile, a non-Jew.[2] Through Yiddish,[3] the word has been adopted into English (pl.: goyim or goys) also to mean "gentile", sometimes in a pejorative sense.[4][5][6] As a word principally used by Jews to describe non-Jews,[5] it is a term for the ethnic out-group.[7]
It has been suggested that The Goyim Know be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2024. |
The Biblical Hebrew word goy has been commonly translated into English as nation,[8][9] meaning a group of persons of the same ethnic family who speak the same language (rather than the more common modern meaning of a political unit).[10] In the Bible, goy is used to describe both the Nation of Israel and other nations.
The meaning of the word goy in Hebrew evolved to mean "non-Jew" in the Hellenistic (300 BC to 30 BC) and Roman periods, as both Rabbinical texts and then Christian theology placed increasing emphasis on a binary division between Jews and non-Jews.
In modern usage in English, the extent to which goy is derogatory is a point of discussion in the Jewish community.
The word "goy" is sometimes used by white supremacists to refer to themselves when signalling a belief in conspiracy theories about Jews.[11]