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shammes

American

[shah-muhs] / ˈʃɑ məs /

Or shames

noun

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

shammes British

/ ˈʃɑːməs, ʃaˈmaʃ /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

shammosim

plural

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