Sabbatical

Sometimes Sab·bat·ic

[suh-bat-i-kuhl]

adjective

1. of or pertaining or appropriate to the Sabbath.

2. (lowercase),  of or relating to a sabbatical year.

3. (lowercase),  bringing a period of rest.

noun

1. (lowercase),  sabbatical year.

2. (lowercase),  any extended period of leave from one's customary work, especially for rest, to acquire new skills or training, etc.

sabbatical

¹

/ səˈbætɪkəl /

adjective

1. denoting a period of leave granted to university staff, teachers, etc, esp approximately every seventh year

   a sabbatical year

   sabbatical leave

2. denoting a post that renders the holder eligible for such leave

noun

1. any sabbatical period

Sabbatical

²

/ səˈbætɪkəl /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or appropriate to the Sabbath as a day of rest and religious observance

noun

1. short for sabbatical year

Other Word Forms

• Sabbatically adverb
• Sabbaticalness noun
• non-Sabbatic adjective
• non-Sabbatical adjective
• non-Sabbatically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sabbatical¹

First recorded in 1605–15; equivalent to Greek sabbatikós (from sábbat(on) Sabbath + -ikos -ic ) + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sabbatical¹

C16: from Greek sabbatikos; see _Sabbath

Example Sentences

It is a bitterly disappointing result for Ireland head coach Andy Farrell on his return from his British and Irish Lions sabbatical.

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Perhaps journalism schools could make such meanderings mandatory or media companies could require a traveling sabbatical.

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After more than a decade at Oracle, Benioff was on sabbatical in Hawaii where, as he has told it, he was swimming with dolphins when he had the idea for a company that would give businesses software tools to manage customer relationships.

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The author writes of a sabbatical from Columbia in 2004, spent in Kampala.

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"There's an exciting look to the panel and there's an opportunity for the more experienced players and for those who made their debuts on the summer tour to Georgia and Portugal," said Farrell, who returns to Ireland duty after taking a sabbatical to lead the Lions tour to Australia.

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Related Words

• furlough 
• leave of absence 
• recess 
• time off