goy

• Goy
• goi, Goi

Borrowed from Yiddish גוי‎ (goy, “gentile”), from Hebrew גּוֹי‎ (goi, “nation”).

Compare Exodus 19:6: ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש (mamlekhet kohanim wegoy qadosh, “ […] a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”) (referring to the Jewish people). The word goy technically refers not to non-Jews, but rather to a nation per se; the Jews are said to constitute a “goy”. But through common usage – namely referring to "the [other non-Jewish] nations" – the word came to colloquially refer to non-Jews.

• IPA^(key): /ɡɔɪ/
• Rhymes: -ɔɪ

goy (plural goyim or goys or goyem)

1. A non-Jew, a gentile. (See usage notes)

   Synonyms: akum, gentile, shegetz, shkotz

   Hyponym: shiksa (female)

   • 1988, Anthony Burgess, Any Old Iron:

     I don’t think that marriage is working, but I’m not going to be stupid about it and say she shouldn’t have married a goy.

This noun is sometimes taken to be offensive; speakers wishing to avoid offense may prefer the term gentile (sometimes capitalized as Gentile) or simply non-Jew.

• anti-goy
• antigoyism
• anti-goyish
• goyish
• shabbos goy

• ygo

goy m, f (plural goys)

1. Alternative spelling of gói