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Sabbath

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See also: sabbath

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English sabat, sabbat, sabath, from Old English sabat and Old French sabbat, both from Latin sabbatum, from Ancient Greek σάββατον (sábbaton, “Sabbath”), from Hebrew שַׁבָּת (shabát, “Sabbath”),[1][2] with the spelling ending in -th, probably influenced by the traditional transliteration of the Hebrew as shabbāth, being attested since the 14th century and widespread since the 16th.[3] Doublet of Shabbat. Possibly from the Sumerian sa-bat ("mid-rest")[4]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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Sabbath (plural Sabbaths)

  1. Saturday, observed in Judaism as a day of rest and worship.
  2. Sunday, observed in Christianity as a day of rest and worship.
  3. Friday, observed in Islam as a day of rest and worship.
    Jerusalem is a city of three Sabbaths–Friday (Muslim), Saturday (Jewish), and Sunday (Christian).
    • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 112:
      Witches always anointed themselves with ointments before departing up the chimney to their Sabbaths. One such ointment was composed of Aconite, Belladonna, Water Parsley, Cinquefoil and Babies' Fat.
    • 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 419:
      Around this conception was built up the notion of ritual devil-worship, involving the sabbath or nocturnal meeting at which the witches gathered to worship their master and to copulate with him.
  4. (historical) Among the ancient Jews and Hebrews, the seventh year, when the land was left fallow.
    Synonym: Sabbath year
  5. (Buddhism, Myanmar) Synonym of uposatha, a regular day of fasting, devotion, or other religious observance.

Usage notes

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  • It is more common—but not universal—to use the lower-case spelling when speaking generically of any such similar day of religious observance (e.g. the Buddhist uposathas).

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ “Sabbath”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  2. ^ “Sabbath”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  3. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “Sabbath”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  4. ^ Pinches, T.G. (1919), “Sabbath (Babylonian)”, in Hastings, James, editor, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Selbie, John A., contrib, Charles Scribner's Sons, pages 889–891

Anagrams

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