mikvah

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Pronunciations

mikvah (MIK-vuh) listen

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Definitions

Example Sentences

  • "The bride-to-be went to the mikveh for the first time the night before her wedding."

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  • "On my way to synagogue in the morning, I often run into Reb Dovid coming back from the mikveh." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH מקווה mikvá > Y מקווה mikve

      • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

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

      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

      mikve, mikva, mikveh

Notes

  • A natural body of water; used in different parts of Jewish tradition such as as part of niddah (after a woman's menstruation cycle before engaging in sexual relations with her husband) or when a person converts to Judaism.

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