nigun

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Pronunciations

nigun (NIH-goon) listen
nigun (nee-GOON) listen

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Definitions

  • n. A wordless melody; a tune.

Example Sentences

  • "Before we begin the service, I will teach you a nigun that will carry on the melody throughout the rest of the prayers."

  • "Let's have a schnapps and I'll teach you a nigun I heard from my uncle." (Glinert)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH ניגון nigún > Y ניגון nígn

      • 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 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

      niggun, nigin, nigan, niggan, nign

Notes

  • plural: 'nigunim'

    See also negine.

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