— Sephardic , adj.
/seuh fahr"dim, -fahr deem"/ , n.pl., sing. Sephardi /-dee, -dee"/ .
Jews of Spain and Portugal or their descendants, distinguished from the Ashkenazim and other Jewish communities chiefly by their liturgy, religious customs, and pronunciation of Hebrew: after expulsion from Spain and Portugal in 1492, established communities in North Africa, the Balkans, Western Europe, and elsewhere.
[ 1850-55; Sapharaddim, pl. of SAPHARADDI, equiv. to Sapharadh (region mentioned in Bible (Obadiah 20) and assumed to be Spain) + -i suffix of appurtenance ]