Words & Their Definitions

Some of the words that author David Liss uses in his novel The Coffee Trader are new to some of our Book Group Readers. Since there is no list in the back of the book with definitions, I decided to open up a thread which explains some of the more unusual words.

So, in alphabetical order, I will begin a list of word definitions. Do I need to explain a word in more detail? Do I have the definition wrong? Want to discuss the meaning of a word? Post your questions in THIS thread! NO SPOILERS please!

List setup:
Word in alphabetical order, followed by page in which word is first used:

Conversos (page 6)**: The name given to a Jew or Muslim who converts to Catholicism in the 14th/15th centuries. This word is most commonly used to refer to people during the Inquisition period.
Hidalgo (page 19): Person of nobility
Inquisition (page 24)**: The Portuguese Inquisition followed the Inquisition in Italy. The Portuguese persecuted persons who proclaimed heresay against the church and forced Jews to either convert to Catholocism or flee Portugal.
Judaizers (page 29): Christians who adhere to Jewish Law or Torah. This can include Conversos, or Jews who have been forced to become Christians.
Ma'amad (page 12): Leading group of men of a Spanish-Portuguese congregation. Very interesting article here.
Parnassim (page 30): Jewish community leaders
Talmudist (page 29): A person who is versed, or well-read in Torah.

**This word and a detailed discussion of this subject will be posted in a seperate thread.

vintage_books; Thank you for the defintions. I was looking all over for parnasssim. I thought that they might have been like law enforcement.

Thanks for this list. I had never heard the word "Judaizers" before and thus appreciate the clarity.

This is the great thing about reading...It expands the vocabulary.

Thank you vintage_books! I had looked up "hidalgo" and found hundreds of definitions across a wide range of countries. Very interesting....