n.(medieval Spain) a Jew or Moor who converted to Christianity (especially those who professed conversion in order to avoid persecution but continued to practice their religion secretly)
N
a Spanish or Portuguese Jew of the late Middle Ages who was converted to Christianity, esp one forcibly converted but secretly adhering to Judaism 马拉诺; 中世纪晚期改信基督教的西班牙或葡萄牙犹太人，尤指被迫改信基督教但仍秘密信奉犹太教的人
Recently, a number of Spanish scholars, such as Jose Erugo, Celso Garcia de la Riega, Otero Sanchez and Nicholas Dias Perez, have concluded that Columbus was a Marrano, whose survival depended upon the suppression of all evidence of his Jewish background in face of the brutal, systematic ethnic cleansing.