maccabiah

Alternative Spellings

maccabia, macabia, makabia, makabea, maccabiya, maccabiyah

Definitions

• international Jewish sports competition, known as the Jewish Olympics, held (mostly) every four years since 1932; smaller regional competitions held in Jewish community centers around the world
• color war / intra-camp competition in a Jewish summer camp

Example Sentences

• "We stayed up all night making the banners for the maccabiah break-out." (Jewish summer camp)
• "Having grown from 390 athletes from fourteen countries to nine thousand athletes from seventy-eight countries, the Maccabiah Games (or the “Jewish Olympics,” as it has come to be known) continue to gain popularity." (https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Olympics-History-Maccabiah-Games/dp/1632204940)

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew, Modern Hebrew

Etymology

The name of the international Jewish athletic competition was based on the ancient Maccabees, plus the -ia suffix common in Modern Hebrew, which is influenced by Ladino / Judeo-Spanish. The use of "maccabiah" for color war at camp was adopted by American Hebraist/Zionist Jewish camps in the 1940s, including at Massad Poconos, based on the international competition.

Who Uses This

Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
Camp: Jews who attend or work at a Jewish overnight summer camp

Regions

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

Dictionaries

The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001)