Purim
Pronunciations
| Purim | (POOR-ihm) | listen |
Definitions
n. A joyous holiday during which people dress up in costumes that takes place in February or March on the 14th of Adar (15th of Adar in Jerusalem and all ancient walled cities), retelling the story of the Book of Esther.
Example Sentences
"Which do they start with--the Purim shpiel or Megillat Esther?"
"I once heard that kreplach enables cheaper cuts and mince to be served in a bekovede way which was necessary in der alter heim when poverty-stricken Yidden wanted to serve meat on semi-Yomtovim like erev Yom Kippur, Hoshanah Rabbah and Purim." (source)
"This Purim, I'm getting dressed up as Queen Esther." (Glinert)
Languages of Origin
- Textual Hebrew
Etymology
פּוּרִים, lit. 'lots, fates' due to the Haman's drawing of lots to determine the day of genocide against the Jews
- Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
- Australia / New Zealand
- South Africa
- Great Britain
- North America
- The New Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten and Lawrence Bush (New York, 2003[1968]).
- The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
- The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
- Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
- View More
Who Uses This
Regions
Dictionaries
Alternative Spellings
Feast of Esther, Feast of Lots
Notes
Also called Feast of Esther or Feast of Lots.
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