sefer

Edit

Pronunciations

sefer (SEH-fehr) listen
sefer (SEY-fehr) listen

Record a Pronunciation

Definitions

  • n. Hebrew or Aramaic book.

  • n. "A literary composition written particularly of, on, or about the Torah." (Weiser)

Example Sentences

  • "What sefer are you learning?"

Record a Sentence

Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • Heb ספר séfer 'book', Yiddish ספֿר séyfer 'holy book'

      • Who Uses This

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

      Regions

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

      Dictionaries

      • Yiddish and English: A Century of Yiddish in America, by Sol Steinmetz (Tuscaloosa, 1986).
      • The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
      • The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
      • Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
      • Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).
      • View More

      Alternative Spellings

      seyfer, seifer

Notes

  • Also used as a proper noun in conjuction with Biblical and Rabbinic texts such as "Sefer Dvarim" is "The Book of Deuteronomy."

    "The phrase 'in sefer' refers to a comment of the author himself rather than to a comment recorded from hearsay or extracted from other works. 'That pshat is Reb Chaim in sefer.'" (Weiser 84)

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