assur

Pronunciations

assur (UH-sur) listen
assur (ah-SOOR) listen

Definitions

  • adj. Forbidden.

Example Sentences

  • "it would be assur to back out of Shmonah Esrei ... into the peripheral front of someone davening behind you." (source)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Heb אסור asúr, Yiddish אָסור óser

    • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa
      • Australia / New Zealand

      Dictionaries

      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      asur, osur, oser, usser

Notes

  • Ashkenazi Orthodox Jews tend to stress the first syllable: UH-sir. (Yiddish also has penultimate stress: O-ser.)
    See also aser.

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