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

Mansell, Prost and Alonso all had breaks before their final blast in F1 - Mansell went to IndyCar for a couple of years, Prost had an enforced sabbatical, and Alonso took two years off to explore other categories.

From BBC

But Hunter Bell hopes that is just the start, with this her first year as a full-time athlete after she left her cybersecurity job of seven years following a summer sabbatical to pursue her Olympic dream.

From BBC

The sabbatical revived her passion for music — and it was support from family and friends that helped Aguilar find her footing once more.

From Los Angeles Times

Centre Len Ikitau and prop Angus Bell's forthcoming season-long sabbatical stints at Exeter and Ulster are such moves.

From BBC

The comments seemed hypocritical since Donovan took his own well-chronicled sabbatical from the game in 2013, missing some World Cup qualifiers.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• furlough 
• leave of absence 
• recess 
• time off