The designation Sepharad in biblical times refers to a colony of exiles from Jerusalem (Obadiah 20), possibly in or near Sardis{??}; in the medieval period, Sephardi(c) Jews are those descended from those who lived in Spain and Portugal (the Iberian peninsula) before the expulsion of 1492. As a cultural designation, the term refers to the complex associated with Jews of this region and its related diaspora in the Balkans and Middle East (especially in Islamic countries). The term is used in contradistinction to Ashkenazi, but it does not refer, thereby, to all Jews of non-Ashkenazi origin.

Jews from the Iberian peninsula from the time of the Middle Ages.

Jews of Spanish, North African, or Middle Eastern origin.

Jews of Spanish or Portugese Origin

Jews of Mediterranean background

Jews and Jewish culture from the Mediterranean, including Spain and Portugal (as differentiated from Askenazic).

(she-far-DEEM) Hebrew name given to that group of Jews who trace their ancestry to Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East.

Jews whose ancestry is Middle Eastern, North African, Spanish, and Portuguese. They are the majority Jewish Israelis living in Israel.

Those Jews whose traditions and culture originate from the Mediteranean, including Spain and Portugal. Compare to Askenazic.

(sing., Sephardi; adj., Sephardic) Basically Jews whose families were of Spanish or Portuguese origin, wherever resident; historically, they tended to speak Ladino (q.v.) or Arabic. The term is often applied to those Jews who are not Ashkenazim. Since the 1960s, Sephard have often been called Oriental Jews.

Jews who came from Spain (Sepharad), North Africa and the Mediterranean. They spoke Ladino and had local customs and practices. Religiously there are only minor differences from the western Ashkenazic practice.