Izzy

//ˈɪzi// name, noun, slang

name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A Jew or an Israeli Jew. derogatory, informal, sometimes

    "“Yeah,”’ Croft said. A spasm of rage worked through him, and he turned on Goldstein and said, ‘‘Listen, Izzy.” / ‘“My name isn’t Izzy,” Goldstein said angrily."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A diminutive of the female given name Isabel, Isobel, Isabelle, Isabella, Elizabeth, Isidora, Isra, Izebel, Ismara and Isobelle.

    ""I approve of anything you desire to do, Izzy," said Henchard huskily."

  2. 2
    A diminutive of the male given name Israel, Isaac, Isambard, Isidore, Ismail, Chreistus, Chreistos, Isaiah, Isiah, Izzet, Isarn, Ismail and Isam.

    "“Geez, Cecil, you sound just like Izzy Benet,” Patrick said. “We don’t need two Izzies. Nobody needs two Izzies.”"

Example

More examples

"Izzy, a Havanese therapy dog, is a regular visitor to Public School 57 in East Harlem, New York. Students meet him in the library, pick out a book and flop down on the carpet. Izzy snuggles up to them and gets ready to hear a story."

Etymology

From the /ɪz-/ root of the names + -y. The common noun derives from Isaac and Israel, male given names of Hebrew origin, popular among Jewish people, the latter also being the name of the self-defined Jewish state.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.