כותי

Hebrew

Etymology

From כּוּת (kut, kūṯ) +‎ ־ִי (-ī).

Noun

כּוּתִי • (kutí, kūṯī) m (plural indefinite כּוּתִים)

1. (literally) Cuthaean, someone from the city of Cutha in Mesopotamia
2. (Jewish law, offensive, derogatory) Samaritan
   • Mishneh Berakhot 8:8

     וְאֵין עוֹנִין אָמֵן אַחַר הַכּוּתִי הַמְבָרֵךְ, עַד שֶׁיִּשְׁמַע כָּל הַבְּרָכָה

     And there is no response of amen after a Samaritan blesses until one has heard the whole blessing.

Usage notes

• In the "Samaritan" sense, due to the belief that Samaritans are not Israelite inhabitants of the Kingdom of Samaria, but instead wholly or partly of Mesopotamian stock, descended from settlers brought by the Neo-Assyrians. Most historians believe these settlers never outnumbered the remaining local Israelite population and were eventually assimilated into it. As the term is meant to highlight the Samaritans' perceived illegitimate or corrupted ties to the Land of Israel (in comparison to Jews), usage of the term is discouraged outside discussions about Jewish Law.