This week’s theme
Words borrowed from Hebrew

This week’s words
mitzvah
cherub
tzedakah
shekel
sabbath


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Next week’s theme
Anti-words

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(SAB-uhth)

MEANING:

noun:
1. A day of the week observed as a day of rest.
2. A period of rest.
3. A meeting of witches and sorcerers (typically spelled as sabbat).

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old English sabat, from French sabbat, from Latin sabbatum, from Greek sabbaton, from Hebrew shabbath, from shavat (to rest). Earliest documented use: 950.

NOTES:

Typically, a Fri is considered a day of Sabbath by Muslims, Sat by Jews (and some Christians), and Sun by Christians. Why not convert to Islam, Judaism, and Christianity and take a three-day weekend off?

USAGE:

“He had been careful not to schedule anything for this day; a day of Sabbath.”
James T. Elder; Along the Road; WestBow Press; 2012.

“We find ourselves in a sabbath of barely clad witches with loosened hair and sharp bamboo canes that they thump loudly on the ground while they jab their toes into the floor like percussive instruments rhythmically beating against the music’s wailing.”
Jennifer Homans; Border Crossing; The New Yorker; Apr 22, 2019.

See more usage examples of sabbath in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: