piyyut

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Pronunciations

piyyut (pee-YOOT) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A liturgical poem.

Example Sentences

  • "The piyyut of Shnei Zeitim takes the form of a meorah, which is a piyyut meant to be said right before ohr hadash and the blessing of yotzer ha-me’orot." (source)

  • "I can't understand half of these piyutim..." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew

Etymology

  • פִּיּוּט

      • Who Uses This

      • Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education

      Regions

      • North America

      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).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

      Alternative Spellings

      piyut

Notes

  • plural: 'piyyutim'

    This religious poem is "distinguished by its form: the rhyme, rhythm, and sometimes acrostic lettering (each phrase or sentence begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet). Medieval poets wrote these long, carefully crafted verses for festivals and special occasions; a number of them are now prayers that are included in the Sabbath and festival prayer books and in High Holy Day machzorim." (JPS)

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