Karaite

[ kar-uh-ahyt ]

/ ˈkær əˌaɪt /

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noun Judaism.

a member of a sect, founded in Persia in the 8th century a.d. by the religious leader Anan ben David, that rejected the Talmud and the teachings of the rabbis in favor of strict adherence to the Bible as the only source of Jewish law and practice.

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Compare Rabbinite.

Origin of Karaite

1720–30; <Hebrew qarāʿ(īm) (equivalent to qarā Biblical scholar, literally, reader + īm plural suffix) + -ite¹

OTHER WORDS FROM Karaite

Kar·a·ism

[kar-uh-iz-uhm], /ˈkær əˌɪz əm/, Kar·a·it·ism

[kar-uh-ahy-tiz-uhm], /ˈkær ə aɪˌtɪz əm/, nounKar·a·it·ic

[kar-uh-it-ik], /ˌkær əˈɪt ɪk/, adjective

Words nearby Karaite

Karachai-Cherkess Republic, Karachi, Karadžić, Karafuto, Karaganda, Karaite, Karaj, Karajan, karaka, Kara-Kalpak, Kara-Kalpak Autonomous Republic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Karaite in a sentence

Less famously, the synagogue of the Karaite sect in Abbasiyya was also restored under her tenure.
Egyptian Jewish Leader Fought To Keep Heritage At Home|Hussein Omar|April 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I mean the Mohammedan schools and sects, and the Karaite discussions which were closely modelled after them.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy|Isaac Husik
Aaron ben Elijah agrees in the main with his Karaite predecessors that Job was not punished for any fault he had committed.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy|Isaac Husik
They had no idea of scientific research, would have condemned it, in fact, as a leaning to Karaite doctrine.
History of the Jews, Vol. III (of 6)|Heinrich Graetz

Ben-Yerucham was not the only Karaite who sought to defend the sect against Saadiah's attacks.
History of the Jews, Vol. III (of 6)|Heinrich Graetz
If the Karaite authors expected to silence Saadiah by means of abuse192 they were mistaken.
History of the Jews, Vol. III (of 6)|Heinrich Graetz

British Dictionary definitions for Karaite

Karaite

/ (ˈkɛərəˌaɪt) /

noun

a member of a Jewish sect originating in the 8th century ad, which rejected the Talmud, favoured strict adherence to and a literal interpretation of the Bible, and attempted to deduce a code of life from it

adjective

of, relating to, or designating the Karaite sect

Word Origin for Karaite

C18: from Hebrew qāraīm members of the sect, scripturalists, from qārā to read

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