dayan

[ Sephardic Hebrew dah-yahn; Ashkenazic Hebrew dah-yawn ]

noun,plural da·ya·nim [Sephardic Hebrew dah-yah-neem; Ashkenazic Hebrew dah-yaw-nim]. /Sephardic Hebrew ˌdɑ yɑˈnim; Ashkenazic Hebrew dɑˈyɔ nɪm/. Hebrew.
  1. a judge in a Jewish religious court.

  2. a person knowledgeable in Talmudic law whose advice on religious questions is often sought by rabbis.

Origin of dayan

1
dayyān judge

Words Nearby dayan

Other definitions for Dayan (2 of 2)

Dayan
[ dah-yahn ]

noun
  1. Mo·she [maw-she; English moh-shuh], /mɔˈʃɛ; English ˈmoʊ ʃə/, 1915–81, Israeli politician and military leader: defense minister 1967–74, foreign minister 1977–79.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use dayan in a sentence

  • Although he bore the modest title of judge229 (dayan), he yet performed the various functions of a Gaon.

  • The dayan rose, came up and looked at her, took the letter, and began to read it silently to himself.

    Yiddish Tales | Various
  • Yssil had once driven out with the town dayan to a mill to guard wheat for Passover, and had there learned a few Polish words.

    Stories and Pictures | Isaac Loeb Peretz
  • And no sooner had she got home, cooked the dinner, and fed the children, than she was off with the letter to the dayan.

    Yiddish Tales | Various
  • Of course, a Shochet sausage and a dayan—no, that was very wrong!

    Stories and Pictures | Isaac Loeb Peretz

British Dictionary definitions for dayan (1 of 2)

dayan

/ (dɑˈjɑn, ˈdɑjən) /


noun
  1. Judaism a senior rabbi, esp one who sits in a religious court

Origin of dayan

1
from Hebrew, literally: judge

British Dictionary definitions for Dayan (2 of 2)

Dayan

/ (daɪˈjɑːn) /


noun
  1. Moshe (ˈmɒʃɛ). 1915–81, Israeli soldier and statesman; minister of defence (1967; 1969–74) and foreign minister (1977–79)

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