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Untitled
edit"Hebrew"? Wouldn't that be Yiddish? The "man" ending is definitely Germanic, not Semitic.
COMMENT on 'REISMAN' etymology (response to comment above):
Actually, it's a combination of Turkish ('Reis') and yiddish/germanic ("Man")
The "Reis" (Pronounced 'REES') were the 'Captains' (literal translation from the Turkish). This conventionally meant 'Pirates.' The name "Reis" also signified membership in the 'Confederation of Caravel Captains.' Some of the most famous members of these 'pirates of the Barbary Coast' were known by the 'Reis' appended on their names. Many of these were born Christian, and then converted to Islam to become members of this confederation of pirates.
In many cases the European Christians wanted to ransom captured goods and and captives ('booty') from the 'Reis' (pirates), and intermediaries, who were mostly Jews, arranged for ransom & restitution. The practice was common enough to create a sort of 'guild' of Jews who ransomed Christian booty from Muslim pirates, and these were know in Europe as the 'Pirates' man' or (using the common word for Muslim pirates), the 'Reis-man'
Not all 'Reisman' are derived from this etymology, since there are also Christian folks whose name is probably wholly Germanic, with the 'Reis' deriving from 'rice' or young plant shoot (reis), or perhaps from 'to-travel' (zu reisen). These non-Jewish familial pronunciation is 'Germanic' ('Rice') not 'Turkish' ('Rees').
I'll make the appropriate edits to this article when I line up the appropriate scholarly citations and historical references so that all the details are properly documented. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.188.153.125 (talk) 21:24, 25 October 2010 (UTC)