Maimouna

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Pronunciations

Maimouna (mee-MOO-nah) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A celebration, traditionally among North African Jews, right after Passover ends, marking the springtime and the return to eating chametz.

Example Sentences

  • "My grandma is making muflettas for Mimouna. I can't wait because I'm sick of eating matzah."

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Languages of Origin

  • Modern Hebrew
  • Arabic / Judeo-Arabic

Etymology

  • From Judeo-Arabic מָיְמוּן maimun ('luck'), given a feminine suffix, akin to 'daughter of luck' or 'lady luck', perhaps influenced by Textual Hebrew אמונה emuna ('faith').
    يمن ym"n (root)
    ميمون maymuun (ms. passive participle form from the same root)
    ميمونة maymuuna pronounced in Morocco Mimuna (fem. of the former form)
    Its use in Jewish English is influenced by its use in Modern Hebrew.

      • Who Uses This

      • Israel: Diaspora Jews who feel connected to Israel and have spent time there
      • Sephardim: Jews with Sephardi or Mizrahi heritage
      • North African Jews

      Regions

      • North America
      • Australia / New Zealand

      Dictionaries

      • None

      Alternative Spellings

      Mimouna, Mimuna, Mimounah, Mimunah, Maimounah, Maimunah

Notes

  • There are several folk etymologies for Maimouna. See more on the history of the word: Aharon Maman. (1991). “מימונה - מדרש השם ומנהגי החג,” in Research on the Culture of North African Jews, ed. Issachar Ben-Ami, 85–95. See more on the history of this celebration from the 18th century to the present: Harvey E Goldberg. (1978). "The Mimuna and the minority status of Moroccan Jews." Ethnology 17.1: 75-87. André Levy. (2018). Happy Mimouna: On a Mechanism for Marginalizing Moroccan Israelis. Israel Studies, 23(2), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.2979/israelstudies.23.2.01. See also Seharane.

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