Shoah

See also: shoah

English

Etymology

From Hebrew שׁוֹאָה (šōʾā, “catastrophe”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʃəʊ.ə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈʃoʊ.ə/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊə

Proper noun

the Shoah

2. (history, chiefly Jewish) The systematic mass murder (genocide) of an estimated six million European Jews perpetrated by Nazi Germany during World War II.
   • 1999, Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon:

     I never knew him, or any of my other relatives who died in the Shoah. But I would gladly dump every ounce of that gold into the ocean, just to give them a decent burial.

Usage notes

• The term "Holocaust" may be synonymous with "Shoah" or may denote something broader; see the usage note at Holocaust.
• Chiefly used by Jews; in English, Holocaust is more common.
• Sometimes used instead of Holocaust to avoid online wordfilters.

Derived terms

• anudda shoah
• Shoah business
• Shoaism
• Yom HaShoah

Translations

systematic mass murder of Jews — see also Holocaust

• Hindi: शोआ (śoā)
• Spanish: Shoá f

See also

• final solution
• Porajmos
• Meds Yeghern

Anagrams

• Ah Soh

French

Etymology

From Hebrew שואה (“catastrophe”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɔ.a/

• Audio (France (Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

Proper noun

Shoah f

1. Holocaust, Shoah

Usage notes

• Unlike in English, where usage is more restricted to Jewish speakers, Shoah is more commonly used than Holocauste in French.

Italian

Proper noun

Shoah ?

1. Shoah

   Synonym: Olocausto

Polish

Alternative forms

• Szoa, Szoah

Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew שׁוֹאָה.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʂɔ.a/, /ˈʂɔ.ax/
• Rhymes: -ɔa, -ɔax
• Syllabification: Sho‧ah

Proper noun

Shoah n (indeclinable)

1. (historical, literary) Shoah (mass murder of Jews perpetrated by the Nazi Germany)

   Synonyms: Holocaust, Holokaust

Further reading

• “Shoah”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “Shoah”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)