# How Did 'Antisemitism' Come to Apply to Jews Only? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-antisemitism-come-to-apply-to-jews-only/456793 "2008-07-17T02:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-antisemitism-come-to-apply-to-jews-only/456793/1 "2008-07-17T02:59:51Z")
This is something I have wondered for some time now: the word Antisemitism. It means being antijewish. The only thing is, “Semite” doesn’t just mean Jewish. I have a dictionary in front of me now that says Semite refers to Hebrews, Arabs, Assyrians, Phoenicians, **“etc.”** So how did antisemite come to refer to just Jewish people? Thank you in advance to all who reply 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-antisemitism-come-to-apply-to-jews-only/456793/2 "2008-07-17T03:11:27Z")
It was coined to refer to Jews only. > [@](#): > > In 1879 German political agitator Wilhelm Marr used the phrase Judenhass (hatred of Jews) in his book “The Victory of Judaism over Germanicism. Observed from a non-religious perspective.” (“Der Sieg des Judenthums über das Germanenthum. Vom nicht confessionellen Standpunkt aus betrachtet.”) to make hatred of the Jews seem rational and sanctioned by scientific knowledge.[8] In his next book, “The Way to Victory of Germanicism over Judaism”, published in 1880, Marr developed his ideas further and coined the related German word Antisemitismus - antisemitism. > **[Antisemitism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Semitism#Etymology_and_usage)** > > Antisemitism\[a\] or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought.\[b\] Antisemitic tendencies may be motivated primarily by negative sentiment towards Jews as a people or negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism. In the former case, usually known as racial antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven b There are vari... ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-antisemitism-come-to-apply-to-jews-only/456793/3 "2008-07-17T04:21:07Z")
As the previous poster said the term was a deliberate attempt by 19th century anti-jewish bigots to transform anti-jewish religious prejudice into “scientific” racial prejudice. By the 19th Century open religious prejudice had become quite “un-PC” in most educated European circles, with its pre-enlightment dark ages connotations. Where racial prejudice on the other hand was quite alright, and in fact, considered quite “scientific”. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-antisemitism-come-to-apply-to-jews-only/456793/4 "2008-07-17T10:41:59Z")
I would think, though, for those original German anti-semites, that they weren’t any more favorably impressed with Arabs and other middle-eastern Semitic ethnicities, but there weren’t many Arabs in their backyard at the time, while the Jew population in Germany was much higher. That would seem to be an important factor in the connotation that the word has today, especially how we’ve gotten to the point where Arabs can be accused of anti-semitism. [sub](My $0.02 worth is all WAG)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-antisemitism-come-to-apply-to-jews-only/456793/5 "2008-07-17T15:16:31Z")
Just as a general rule, the technical meaning of the origin of a word seldom has anything to do with the meanings that the word has accrued over the years. Although anti-semitism was coined, it’s little different in not being a literal translation of its root words than the vast majority of other words that you use every day. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-antisemitism-come-to-apply-to-jews-only/456793/6 "2008-07-17T15:20:17Z")
I notice the people who can’t understand how antisemitism means jew hatred have no problem with the idea that awful and awesome have opposite meanings–today. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-antisemitism-come-to-apply-to-jews-only/456793/7 "2008-07-17T15:46:41Z")
[QUOTE=chrisk] I would think, though, for those original German anti-semites, that they weren’t any more favorably impressed with Arabs and other middle-eastern Semitic ethnicities, but there weren’t many Arabs in their backyard at the time, while the Jew population in Germany was much higher. That would seem to be an important factor in the connotation that the word has today, especially how we’ve gotten to the point where Arabs can be accused of anti-semitism. [sub](My $0.02 worth is all WAG)[/sub] [/QUOTE] I think this must have been a factor.