Hanukkah

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Pronunciations

Chanukkah (cha-noo-KAH) listen
Chanukkah (CHA-nuh-kuh) listen
Hanukkah (HAHN-uh-kuh) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The winter-time festival that commemorates the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean revolt in the second century B.C.E.

Example Sentences

  • "We will be having a party on the first night of Chanukah."

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH חנוכה, lit. 'dedication' > Y חנוכה khanike

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

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

      Dictionaries

      • 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).
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      Alternative Spellings

      Cannuka, Chanuka, Hanukka, Hanuka, Khanike, Chanukah, Hanukah, Chanukkah, Hannukah, Channuka, Channukah, Festival of Lights, Khanike, Chanike

Notes

  • The "ch" sound is pronounced mostly by older Jews and younger Jews with religious backgrounds.


    The spelling is a source of popular discourse, e.g., here.


    Also called the Festival of Lights.

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