sə̇ˈfärdē, -ˌfärˈdē noun
( plural sephardim -ˈfȧrdə̇m, -ˌfärˈdēm ; also sephardi )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Late Hebrew sĕphāradhī, from Sĕphāradh Spain, from Hebrew, region probably in northern Asia Minor where Jews were once held in captivity (Obad 20)
: a member of the occidental branch of European Jews early settling in Spain and Portugal and later spreading to Greece, the Levant, England, the Netherlands, and the Americas — compare ashkenazi