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shammes

American  
[shah-muhs] / ˈʃɑ məs /
Or shames

noun

plural

shammosim

  1. sexton.

  2. the candle used to kindle the candles in the Hanukkah menorah.

shammes British  
/ ˈʃɑːməs, ʃaˈmaʃ /

noun

  1. an official acting as the beadle, sexton, and caretaker of a synagogue

  2. the extra candle used on the Feast of Hanukkah to kindle the lamps or candles of the menorah

"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

Etymology

Origin of shammes

1945–50; < Yiddish shames < Hebrew shammāsh server, attendant

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.