Ashkenazi

Origin

Borrowed from Hebrew אַשְׁכְּנַזִּי ('ashk'nazí), from Biblical Hebrew אַשְׁכְּנַז (ʾaškənaz). The biblical Ashkenaz was the son of Gomer, the grandson of Japheth, and the great-grandson of Noah. Ashkenaz's descendants were identified with the Germans by medieval Jewish tradition. Ashkenaz was also the name used for the Rhine river, which was the starting point of central and eastern European settlement by Jews, who are thought to have arrived in the region from Italy, and then spread east as they fled violent oppression and followed more favorable ownership laws. By surface analysis, Ashkenaz + -i.