'ashkenazi' originates from Hebrew, specifically the word 'Ashkenaz', where the name 'Ashkenaz' was used in medieval Jewish tradition to denote the region of Germany; the adjective/ethnonym developed from Hebrew/Yiddish usage for Jews of that region.

'Ashkenaz' is a biblical name (a descendant of Japheth) that in medieval Hebrew came to be associated with Germany; from this the Hebrew plural 'Ashkenazim' and the adjectival form entered Yiddish and later English as 'Ashkenazi.'

Initially a proper name in biblical tradition referring to a descendant of Japheth, the term later came to denote a geographic region (Germany) and ultimately the Jewish communities from that region; today it refers to Jews of Central and Eastern European origin and their cultural traits.