English Explanatory Dictionary

Dönmeh

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A group of crypto-Jews in the Ottoman Empire who, to avoid imprisonment after declaring arrival of the doomsday messiah, converted publicly to Islam, but retained their Jewish beliefs in secret.

Word forms

Dönmeh Donmeh Dönme Donme Dunmeh

Etymology

From Turkish Dönme, from Ottoman Turkish دونمه (dönme), of a root prefix meaning "turn" or "convert".

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