hava nagila

Edit

Pronunciations

hava nagila (HAH-vuh nu-GEE-luh) listen

Record a Pronunciation

Definitions

  • n. Traditional Jewish melody, often played at simchot (Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations and weddings). Guests often dance the hora, a circle dance, to the tune. (Eisenberg and Scolnic)

Example Sentences

  • "The guests danced the Hava Nagila long into the night." (Glinert)

    Listen to recordings of this sentence: ( Recording 1)

Record a Sentence

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • הבה נגילה 'Let us rejoice'

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements

      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).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

      Alternative Spellings

      hava nagilah, havah nagilah, havah nagila, hava negila, hava negilah

Edit     Something missing from this entry? Inaccurate? Feel free to suggest an edit.