to be machmir
Pronunciations
to be machmir | (MAHKH-meer) | listen |
Definitions
v. To be stringent; take a strict position on an issue.
v. To be meticulous.
Example Sentences
"He is always machmir to brush his hat and straighten his tie before he goes out in public." (Weiser)
"When there is a doubt in a matter of Torah law, you must be machmir (strict); when there is a doubt in a matter of rabbinic law, you may be makil (lenient)." (source)
"Some of the rabbis aren't prepared to recognize the Ethiopian Jews, but perhaps they're being machmir about it." (Glinert)
Languages of Origin
- Textual Hebrew
- Yiddish
Etymology
Y מחמיר זײַן makhmir zayn
- Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)
- North America
- Australia / New Zealand
- Great Britain
- South Africa
- 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).
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
to be makhmir, to be mahmir
Edit Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.