mikvah

American  

[mee-kvah, mik-vuh] / miˈkvɑ, ˈmɪk və /

Or mikveh

noun

Hebrew.

plural

mikvoth, mikvot, mikvos,

plural

mikvahs

1. a ritual bath to which Orthodox Jews are traditionally required to go on certain occasions, as before the Sabbath and after each menstrual period, to cleanse and purify themselves.

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mikvah British  

/ mikˈvɑ, ˈmikvə /

noun

1. Judaism a pool used esp by women for ritual purification after their monthly period

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Etymology

Origin of mikvah

from Hebrew

Example Sentences

Students from Colby College helped harvest ice from a pond for a new mikvah, or ritual bath, at a synagogue in Waterville.

From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2024

They bathed in a ritual bath, or mikvah, on the banks of the Gera River and buried their dead in a large cemetery just outside the city walls.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 30, 2022

So far, there are no reported cases of women who have become infected at a mikvah in Israel, according to Mitchell Schwaber, director of the National Center for Infection Control.

From Washington Post • Apr. 28, 2020

A state offering a construction grant couldn’t bar synagogues from applying to build a new mikvah or mosques from asking for money to repair a minaret.

From Slate • Jun. 27, 2017

"Why don't you stop by sometime, and we can talk? When the mikvah is completed, I will show it to you. Maybe you will think better of it then."

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper