Passover

[ pas-oh-ver, pahs- ]

noun
  1. Also called Pesach, Pesah. a Jewish festival that commemorates the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and is marked chiefly by the Seder ritual and the eating of matzoth. It begins on the 14th day of Nisan and is celebrated for eight days by Orthodox and Conservative Jews outside of Israel and for seven days by Reform Jews and Jews in Israel.

  2. (lowercase) paschal lamb (def. 1).

Origin of Passover

1
First recorded in 1520–30; noun use of verb phrase pass over, as translation of Hebrew pesaḥ

Words Nearby Passover

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How to use Passover in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pass over (1 of 2)

pass over

verb
  1. (tr, adverb) to take no notice of; disregard: they passed me over in the last round of promotions

  2. (intr, preposition) to disregard (something bad or embarrassing): we shall pass over your former faults

British Dictionary definitions for Passover (2 of 2)

Passover

/ (ˈpɑːsˌəʊvə) /


noun
  1. Also called: Pesach, Pesah, Feast of the Unleavened Bread an eight-day Jewish festival beginning on Nisan 15 and celebrated in commemoration of the passing over or sparing of the Israelites in Egypt, when God smote the firstborn of the Egyptians (Exodus 12): Related adjective: paschal

  2. another term for the Paschal Lamb

Origin of Passover

2
C16: from pass over, translation of Hebrew pesah, from pāsah to pass over

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Passover (1 of 2)

Passover

The deliverance of the Israelites from the worst of the plagues of Egypt, and the annual festival kept afterward in memory of the event. Through Moses, God told the Israelites to prepare a special meal to be eaten in haste the evening before their escape from Egypt (see also Egypt) (see Exodus), with a whole roasted lamb as the main dish. The blood from the lamb was to be used to mark the Israelites' houses. That night, God would send the angel of Death to kill the firstborn males of the Egyptians (this was the worst of the plagues of Egypt), but God would see the blood on the Israelites' houses, and he would command his angel to “pass over” — to kill no one there. God told Moses that the Israelites were to repeat the meal each spring on the anniversary of their departure from Egypt. The Jews (see also Jews) keep the festival of Passover to this day.

Notes for Passover

The Last Supper of Jesus and his Apostles was a Passover meal. The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus were explained by the Apostles as the new Passover of the New Testament.
Passover

Among Jews (see also Jews), the festival commemorating the Exodus, the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (see also Egypt). During Passover, unleavened bread, called matzo, is eaten. In the course of the festival, the story of the Exodus is read.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with Passover

Passover

See pass by, def. 2.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.