Amish

Definition: Amish

Amish

Noun

1. An American follower of the Mennonite Bishop Amman.

"Amish" is a common misspelling or typo for: amass, apish, famish.

Crosswords: Amish

English words defined with "Amish": Amish sect ♦ commercialise, commercialize ♦ market. (references)

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Specialty Definition: Amish

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Amish are a denomination of Anabaptists and Mennonites, many of whom are noted for their avoidance of modern devices such as automobiles and electricity.

History

As Mennonites, the Amish are descendants of the Anabaptist followers of Menno Simons (ca. 1496 - 1561). Simons was a Dutch Roman Catholic priest, who was converted in 1536 and baptized by Obbe Philips. The Amish movement takes it name from Jacob Amman (ca. 1656 - ca. 1730), a Swiss Mennonite. Amman felt that the Mennonites were drifting from close adherence to the teachings of Simons and the 1632 Mennonite Dordrecht Confession of Faith. Much of the laxity was in the area of shunning excluded members, also called the ban. The ban meant believers would terminate contact with a non-conforming member of the Mennonite society. Amman insisted upon this practice, even to the point of a spouse refusing to sleep or eat with the banned member until he/she repented of his/her behavior. This strict literalism brought about a division of the Mennonites in Switzerland in 1693, and led to the establishment of the Amish branch of Mennonites. Some Amish began to migrate to the United States in the 18th century and many settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Other groups settled in or spread to Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and even into Canada. During the 1860s, conferences were held in Wayne County, Ohio concerning how the Amish should deal with the pressures of modern society. The Amish eventually split into several divisions, partly a result of the decisions of these conferences.

Lifestyle

The avoidance of items such as automobiles and electricity is largely misunderstood. The Amish do not view technology as evil. Technologies can be petitioned for acceptance into the Amish lifestyle. Twice a year the church leaders meet to review items for admittance.

Electricity, for instance, is viewed as a connection to the "English" or the outside world. The use of electricity also could lead to the use of household appliances that would complicate the Amish tradition of a simple life. However, in certain Amish groups electricity can be used in very specific situations. In some groups for example it has to be produced without access to outside power lines. Twelve-volt batteries are acceptable. Electric generators can only be used for welding, recharging batteries, and powering milk stirs. The reasoning behind the twelve volt system is that it limits what an individual can do with the electricity and acts as a preventive measure against potential abuses. Worldly modern appliances such as televisions, light bulbs, and hair dryers often use 110 or 240 volt electricity, and will not operate under twelve volt current.

Dress code for some groups includes that buttons are not allowed, and only pins are used to keep clothing closed. The Amish are noted for the quality of their quilts and for their farming efficiency.

The Amish do not believe that a child can be meaningfully baptized. Amish children are expected to follow the will of their parents in all issues, but at the age of sixteen they come of age and may lead a lifestyle of their own choice. In fact they are permitted to try out the "English" lifestyle of the outside world for a few years, so that they can make an informed choice to be baptized and join the church for life. Some 10% choose not to join the church but live the rest of their lives in the society at large.

Status

The Amish reside in close-knit communities in 22 states of the United States as well as Ontario, Canada. The largest concentrations of Amish in the United States are in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and Holmes County, Ohio. There are an estimated 100,000 Amish in the United States in all groups, and another 1500 in Ontario, Canada.

The strictest Amish groups are the Nebraska Amish and the Swartzendruber Amish. The language used in all Old Order Amish homes and in many Beachy Amish homes is Pennsylvania German, also called Pennsylvania Dutch. The word "Dutch" is derived from Deutsch, meaning German. English is used with the outside world.

Other

The film Witness is centered on an Amish community., as is the 2002 documentary The Devil's Playground

External links

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Amish."

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Modern Usage: Amish

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	According to Martha, the Hittites make the Amish look like swingers! (Deadly Blessing; writing credit: Glenn M. Benest; Matthew Barr) So who are these Hittites anyway, Amish, or what? (Deadly Blessing; writing credit: Glenn M. Benest; Matthew Barr) We're dealing with fundamentaliststhe Amish are fundamentalists, but they don't try and hijack a carriage at needlepoint. (Robin Williams: Live on Broadway; writing credit: Robin Williams) There's a lot of Amish people, but they never raised a barn. (That '70s Show; writing credit: Stacia Raymond)
Song Titles	Amish Country Blues (performing artist: The Electric Amish)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Amish

Domain	Title
Books	Amish Society (reference) Cooking from Quilt Country: Hearty Recipes from Amish and Mennonite Kitchens (reference) Crossing Over : One Woman's Exodus from Amish Life (reference) Great Possessions : An Amish Farmer's Journal (reference) New Recipes from Quilt Country: More Food & Folkways from the Amish & Mennonites (reference) (more book examples)

Theater & Movies	Amish Barn Raising (reference) Amish Country Adventure (reference) Train Ride Thru Amish Country (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Image Slideshow: Amish

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Photo Album: Amish

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Buggy used by the Amish in Davis County, Iowa.Credit: Lynn Betts.		Frank Lucas, NRCS, and an Amish farmer discuss conservation plans. [Slide 97CS3109].Credit: Bob Nichols.
	Amish farm with a windmill and sorghum in Delaware.Credit: Dot Abbott-Donnelly.		Frank Lucas, NRCS and an Amish farmer discuss conservation plans.Credit: USDA.
	Amish boy takes his girlfriend and chaperoning sister for a buggy ride.Credit: Library of Congress.		Amish wagon, Plain City, Ohio.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Intercourse, Pennsylvania (vicinity). Amish carriage shop.Credit: Library of Congress.		Blue Ball, (vicinity). Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Dumbwaiter food safe which descends into the basement when not needed. Amish FSA (Farm Security Administration) client's home.Credit: Library of Congress.
	Honey Brook (vicinity) Pennsylvania. Cheap tin steamer used for cooking corned beef in home of Amish FSA (Farm Security Administration) client.Credit: Library of Congress.		Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Barreville is a center for Amish farmers. Outside phone booth under gas sign is a common sight. For it is not contrary to the "plain people's principles to use a phone so long as it is not in the home.Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Amish

"Amish" is generally used as a noun (common) -- approximately 57.14% of the time. "Amish" is used about 7 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (common)	57.14%	4	175,879
Adjective (general or positive)	42.86%	3	202,518
Total	100.00%	7	N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Amish

Expressions using "Amish": amish sect ♦ old Order Amish. Additional references.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Amish

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
amish	2,586	amish craft	54
amish furniture	978	amish buggy	50
amish donkey	954	amish country pennsylvania	46
amish country	396	amish cook	44
amish quilt	269	amish back donkey door	44
amish paradise	259	amish bread	43
ohio amish country	198	amish porn	39
amish friendship bread	186	amish farm	39
amish recipe	183	amish country pa	38
ohio amish	164	amish history	37
amish people	102	amish religion	37
amish acres	94	amish cinnamon bread	35
amish picture	93	amish furniture ohio	34
amish donkey.com	77	amish in ohio	34
amish donkey pool	77	amish oak furniture	31
amish culture	75	amish friendship bread recipe	30
amish indiana	70	amish lyrics paradise	30
amish shed	68	amish cooking	30
amish community	55	amish pa	30
pennsylvania amish	55	amish woman	28
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Amish

Derivations
	Words ending with "Amish": beamish, famish, squeamish. (additional references)
	Words containing "Amish": beamishly, famished, famishes, famishing, famishment, famishments, squeamishly, squeamishness, squeamishnesses. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Amish" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Ai'sha, Amasha, amith, ammish, Aniushka, Anusha, Aoibhe, Armishir, Atisha, Atishoo, Bamissi, Imisp, Magisch, Magische, Unish. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Anagrams: Amish

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-h-i-m-s"
	-1 letter: aims, amis, hams, mash, sham, shim, sima.
	-2 letters: aim, ais, ami, ash, ham, has, him, his, ism, mas, mis, sha, sim.
	-3 letters: ah, ai, am, as, ha, hi, hm, is, ma, mi, sh, si.
	Words containing the letters "a-h-i-m-s"
	+1 letter: ahimsa, bimahs, chiasm, famish, hakims, ihrams, marish, mashie, mishap.
	+2 letters: ahimsas, atheism, beamish, chamise, chamiso, chamois, charism, chasmic, chiasma, chiasmi, chiasms, chimars, chimlas, chrisma, dampish, dirhams, haemins, harmins, hassium, kashmir, khamsin, maddish, maidish, maihems, mannish, mashies, mashing, mawkish, messiah, midrash, mihrabs, mikvahs, mishaps, mishear, mitsvah, mohairs, phasmid, rammish, sashimi, shaming, shamois, shipman, tachism, thairms, thirams, vampish, wampish, warmish.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.