matzeivah

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Pronunciations

matzeivah (mah-TSEY-vuh) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A headstone, tombstone.

  • n. An unveiling; the ceremony marking the placing of a deceased person's headstone one year after his or her burial.

Example Sentences

  • "We erect the matzeivah one year after the burial at the unveiling."

  • "She always keeps talking about how she wants a very simple matzeva." (Glinert)

  • "I can't make it next Sunday. I have to go to a matzeva." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH מצבה matsevá > Y מצבֿה matséyve

      • Who Uses This

      • Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

      Regions

      • North America
      • Great Britain
      • South Africa

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).

      Alternative Spellings

      matzeva, matzeyvah, matseyve, matseyveh, matseyva

Notes

  • In Polish, the word "macewa" (pronounced with stress on the second syllable) refers to a Jewish tombstone and is likely a borrowing from Yiddish.

    See also unveiling and stone setting.

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