shivah

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Pronunciations

shivah (SHIH-vuh) listen

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Definitions

  • n. The week-long period of mourning after the death of a relative, during which close relatives stay at home and greet visitors.

Example Sentences

  • "The Feingolds can't come to our party, they're sitting shiva."

  • "Kol Chai reported that during the shiva, two women, who were not connected to each other, told Devorah Paley that in the wake of the attack, they decided to be mechazeik in shemiras hamitzvos, with both deciding to take on Shemiras Shabbos and covering their hair." (source)

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Languages of Origin

  • Textual Hebrew
  • Yiddish

Etymology

  • TH שבעה shivá > Y שיבֿעה shíve

      • Who Uses This

      • Jews: Jews of diverse religious backgrounds and organizational involvements
      • Non-Jews: (words that have spread outside of Jewish networks)

      Regions

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

      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

      shiva

Notes

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