Definitions

  • n. The Jewish evening prayer service.

  • n. The western direction.

Example Sentences

  • "My dad is davening Maariv tonight."

  • "Do they wait till after dark before saying Ma'ariv?" (Glinert)

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH מַעֲרִיב ma'ariv, lit. 'bringing night' > Y מעריבֿ mayrev

    • 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)
      • Ashkenazim: Jews with Ashkenazi heritage

      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).
      • Yinglish: A Lexicon of Judeo-English by Aliza Bulow

      Alternative Spellings

      Mayriv, Mairiv, Maarev, Mariv, Mayrev, Mairev, Maariv

Notes

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