megillah

or me·gil·la

[ muh-gil-uh; Sephardic Hebrew muh-gee-lah ]

noun

, plural me·gil·lahs, Sephardic Hebrew me·gil·loth, me·gil·lot [m, uh, -gee-, lawt].

1. Slang.
   1. a lengthy, detailed explanation or account:

      Just give me the facts, not the whole megillah.

   2. a lengthy and tediously complicated situation or matter.
2. (italics) Hebrew. a scroll, especially one containing the Book of Esther. Others are the Book of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, the Book of Ruth, and the Book of Lamentations.

megillah

/ miɡiˈla; məˈɡɪlə /

noun

1. a scroll of the Book of Esther, read on the festival of Purim
2. a scroll of the Book of Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, or Ecclesiastes
3. slang.
   anything, such as a story or letter, that is too long or unduly drawn out

Word History and Origins

Origin of megillah¹

First recorded in 1910–15; from Yiddish megile, from Biblical Hebrew məgillāh “scroll, roll, volume,” from gālal “to roll”

Word History and Origins

Origin of megillah¹

Hebrew: scroll, from galal to roll

Example Sentences

We fasted for Yom Kippur, read from the Megillah for Purim, and said bruchas over every meal.

From The Daily Beast

Thus he never had to read the Megillah nor drink to celebrate an act of bloody revenge.

From The Daily Beast