The Oxford American Dictionary provides two definitions for “Jew”:
1. “A member of the people and cultural community whose traditional religion is Judaism and who trace their origins through the ancient Hebrew people of Israel to Abraham”;
2. A derogatory meaning, as is found in the expression, “to Jew someone down”. This second definition is prefaced by the label, “Offensive”.
Interestingly, the Oxford American Dictionary also features two definitions for “Pharisee”:
1. “A member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity”;
2. “A self-righteous person; a hypocrite”.
The interesting thing is that, in this instance, the derogatory meaning is not advertised as being offensive in the slightest.
Echoes from the Ether: