kinyan

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Pronunciations

kinyan (KIHN-yin) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The act or manner of legally acquiring or agreeing to something.

  • n. "A groom's formal acceptance of the terms of the ketubbah. At a traditional wedding, this ritual takes place during the chossen's tish, when the rabbi or a witness, acting on behalf of the bride, offers the groom a handkerchief or some other object" (JPS).

Example Sentences

  • "In Jewish law almost all kinds of rights, whether proprietary or contractual can be voluntarily acquired only by way of kinyan." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • קנין kinyan 'act of buying, an acquisition'

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      kinyon, kinyen, keenyan

Notes

  • Regarding the usage referring to the groom accepting the ketubbah, "This ceremony is a vestige of ancient times, when marriage was a business transaction between the bride's father and the groom. That transaction was confirmed by the passing of a handkerchief and/or sealed with the payment of a silver or gold coin" (JPS), which is what connects the usage to the literal meaning of an acquisition.

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