noun pl. Ashkenazim -·naz′im (-näz′im, -naz′im)

1. a member of the group of Jews that, after the Diaspora, settled in central, northern, and, later, eastern Europe and developed Yiddish as their spoken language
2. a descendant of this group

Etymology: Heb, a German Jew; earlier, a German, after ashkenaz, name of an ancient kingdom (see Jer. 51:27), after ashkenaz, second son of Gomer (see Gen. 10:3); prob. akin to Akkadian ishkuzai (> Gr Skythoi, the Scythians)