Jew

Jew, jōō, n. an inhabitant of Judea: a Hebrew or Israelite: opprobriously used for a usurer, miser, &c.:—fem. Jew′ess.—v.t. and v.i. (coll.) to overreach: cheat.—n. Jew′-bait′ing, the persecuting of Jews.—adj. Jew′ish, belonging to the Jews.—adv. Jew′ishly.—ns. Jew′ishness; Jew's′-ear, a fungus that grows on the elder, and bears some resemblance to the human ear; Jew's' frank′incense, the balsam known as benzoin or gum storax, often used as an incense; Jew's′-harp, a small harp-shaped musical instrument played between the teeth by striking a spring with the finger; Jew's′-mall′ow, a plant much cultivated as a pot-herb by the Jews in Syria; Jew's′-myr′tle, the prickly-leaved plant Ruscus aculeatus; Jew's′-pitch, asphaltum; Jew's′-stone, the fossil spine of a large echinus or sea hedgehog.—Jew's eye, in proverb 'Worth a Jew's eye,' something of high value—from the custom of torturing Jews for money; Jews' houses, in Cornwall, the name given to prehistoric miners' dwellings.—Wandering Jew (see Wander). [O. Fr. Juis—L. Judæus—Gr. Ioudaios—Heb. Yehūdāh, Judah.]