Gentile

The word Gentile (from the Latin gentilis, a translation of the Hebrew Nochri/????) has several meanings. In the most common modern use it refers to a non-Jew. The word is derived from the Latin term gens (meaning "clan" or a "group of families") and it is often employed in the plural. In late Latin gentilis meant "pagan", and the term gentile has sometimes been used in the past as a synonym for "heathen" or "pagan" (a believer in many gods); this usage is archaic.

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In English translations of the Bible the word gentiles is sometimes used as a translation of the Hebrew word goyim; in the King James Version the first and only such use in the Pentateuch is in the book of Genesis 10:5. Christian translators of the Bible use this word in the meaning of non-Israelite, to collectively designate the peoples and nations distinct from the Israelite people; the word is used that way over 130 times in the King James Version of the Bible. In the New Testament the word is used more specifically to indicate non-Jews.

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As in the King James Bible, from the 17th century on this term was most commonly used to refer to non-Jews. However, this usage was in the context of European Christian societies with a Jewish minority. In modern multireligious and multiethnic societies the term is typically not seen as a synonym for "non-Jew", except in restricted contexts. For example, to refer to a Chinese person as a "gentile" would be unusual. In addition the word is often perceived as derogatory. Therefore in recent decades this use of the term has fallen out of favor.

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It is also sometimes used to describe persons of Christian faith in an opposition to the adherents of Judaism.

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Jew: The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes....

Latin: Latin is an Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and many words based on Latin are found in other modern languages such as English. The ...

Gens: GENS is Sega Genesis emulator for Windows 98/2000/ME/XP. It is considered to be one of the most compatible Genesis emulators available, meaning that most ROMs available will play on it without any problems. Gens is not just limited to playing Genesis games, with BIOS upgrades it is able to play Sega...