Goy

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]

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]

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^ It is sometimes compared to similar terms in other cultures such as the Japanese word Gaijin or the Arabic Ajam. Magid, Shaul (7 December 2019). "Theorizing 'Jew" 'Judaism' and 'Jewishness': Final Reflections", The Journal of Jewish Identities 11:1 (January 2018): 205-215". Academia.edu. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
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[Magid-7] It is sometimes compared to similar terms in other cultures such as the Japanese word Gaijin or the Arabic Ajam. Magid, Shaul (7 December 2019). "Theorizing 'Jew" 'Judaism' and 'Jewishness': Final Reflections", The Journal of Jewish Identities 11:1 (January 2018): 205-215". Academia.edu. Retrieved 29 December 2022.

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