generally derogatory term for a Jew, 1874 (Hotten, apparently originally British English), from Yiddish use, where it was complimentary (see Yiddish).
Entries linking to yid
Yiddish n.
1875, from Yiddish yidish, from Middle High German jüdisch "Jewish" (in phrase jüdisch deutsch "Jewish-German"), from jude "Jew," from Old High German judo, from Latin Iudaeus (see Jew). The English word has been re-borrowed in German as jiddisch. As an adjective from 1886. Related: Yiddishism.