agunah

Pronunciations

agunah

(ah-guh-nuh)

Definitions

• n. A woman whose husband has refused her a get.
  

• n. A woman who is unable to remarry, due to the fact that her husband is missing and it is not known whether her husband is alive or dead.
  

Example Sentences

• "The plight of agunahs has become a great concern to the Jewish community in recent years."
  

• "After the Holocaust, this posek was able to be matir many agunos."
  

Languages of Origin

• Textual Hebrew

Etymology

• עגונה 'lit. chained woman' (plural עגונות agunot)
  

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).

Alternative Spellings

aguna, agune