Zhyd

Max Vasmer derives the word //, etc. from Italian giudeo, from Latin judaeus, while rejecting some other etymologies. == Russian ==

In modern Russian (), it has been an antisemitic slur, similar to the word yid, since the mid-19th century. On December 4, 1762 Empress Catherine II issued a manifesto permitting all foreigners to travel and to settle in Russia, adding kromye zhidov ("except the Jews"). In the legislative enactments of the last decade of Catherine's reign the term zhid was replaced by yevrey, "Hebrew". == Ukrainian ==

Under the influence of Russian, the terms have also become pejorative in modern Ukrainian (, zhydivka / zhyd). Nikita Khrushchev commented on the term in his memoirs: In the Western Ukrainian dialect of Yiddish, the term for 'Jew" is 'Zhyd' - as is found in the name of the Hassidic dynasty of Ziditshov. The dialect stresses the Y-sound of the Yiddish word "Yid" into a 'Zh". In December 2012, Ukrainian politician Ihor Miroshnychenko of the Svoboda party wrote on Facebook that Hollywood actress Mila Kunis, who is Jewish, is "not a Ukrainian but a zhydivka." The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice declared that Miroshnichenko's use of the word was legal because it is an archaic term for Jew and not necessarily a slur. In a letter of protest directed to then-Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov, the term Zhydovka was described by Rabbi Marvin Hier of the US-based Simon Wiesenthal Center as an "insidious slur invoked by the Nazis and their collaborators as they rounded up the Jews to murder them at Babi Yar and in the death camps." == Other Slavic languages ==

In Polish the words are the neutral, standard and non-pejorative way to refer to Jews, which is being used by the Polish Jews to describe themselves (for example "Żydowski Instytut Historyczny" - Jewish Historical Institute or "Gmina Wyznaniowa Żydowska" - Jewish Religious Community). However there exist numerous derivatives, some of which can be pejorative, such as żydzisko, żydek. The pejorative character of the word is also reflected in the fact that it used to be a colloquial synonym for "inkblot".)—as well as Hungarian and Lithuanian which are influenced by Slavic languages—these terms, similar to the usage in Polish, are not pejorative, as they simply mean 'Jew'. However historically the word had a derogatory connotation, due to the discrimination of the Jews. ==Notes==