Anti-semit-ism: When and Why was the Term Coined and Embraced? Is it Still Useful?

Abstract: In a 2009 essay titled Away from a Definition of Antisemitism: An Essay in the Semantics of Historical Description , David Engel suggested "eschewing 'antisemitism' as a ready-made category" and as a legitimate analytical concept for scholars because of the vagueness of the term, the disagreement over its definition, and its political uses, i.e. being both manipulated and manipulative. This article refutes Engel's claim by demonstrating the flaws of his argument using the methodology of the history of concepts. The three particles of the term—"anti," "Semit," and "ism"—are analyzed as is the emergence of the term in 1860—not 1879—within its mid-nineteenth century context. Finally, it is claimed that the fragile contours of the phenomenon are part of its essence, and that the term can be used as an analytical tool because of seven basic tropes that recur in varying expressions across time and place.