minyan

¹ American  

[meen-yahn, min-yuhn] / minˈyɑn, ˈmɪn yən /

noun

Hebrew.

plural

minyanim,

plural

minyans

1. the number of persons required by Jewish law to be present to conduct a communal religious service, traditionally a minimum of 10 Jewish males over 13 years of age.

2. such a group.

---

Minyan ² American  

[min-yuhn] / ˈmɪn yən /

adjective

1. descended from Minyas.

2. being or pertaining to a gray, wheel-thrown pottery produced in ancient Greece during the early part of the Helladic period, c2000 b.c.

---

noun

1. Minyans. Also Minyae the descendants of Minyas who inhabited Orchomenus in Boeotia and Iolcus in Thessaly.

minyan British  

/ ˈmɪnjən, minˈjan /

noun

1. the number of persons required by Jewish law to be present for a religious service, namely, at least ten males over thirteen years of age

---

Etymology

Origin of minyan

minyān literally, number

Example Sentences

Ordinarily, she preferred hunting outside the theater, perhaps finding an evening minyan she could join or a wedding to crash.

From Literature

It has been more difficult to reach the required minyan, or quorum, of 10 people in order to recite certain prayers.

From New York Times

Asked by a prosecutor if his Tree of Life congregation has been able to gather a minyan as easily since the attack, Weiss said it hasn’t.

From Seattle Times

Pil makes sure that every day, morning and night, a minyan — a quorum of 10 men necessary for Orthodox Jews to hold certain prayers — is present.

From Los Angeles Times

Just joining a minyan for evening services or listening to the chazzan’s chanting was like stepping back into my childhood home.

From Literature