shivah
Britishnoun
-
the period of formal mourning lasting seven days from the funeral during which the mourner stays indoors and sits on a low stool
-
to mourn
Etymology
Origin of shivah
from Hebrew, literally: seven (days)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Its norms are now as well defined as the protocols for sitting shivah or effectuating a Tibetan burial.
From Time • Nov. 18, 2015
He and Katherine flew to Miami to sit shivah with the Sotloffs.
From The New Yorker • Jun. 24, 2015
And I remember seeing Gilda with Belushi one day, and she said, ‘We’re sitting shivah because Lorne won’t hire John.’
From Slate • Jan. 28, 2012
Booker says he sat shivah with Kushner recently after the death of his mother Rae, a Holocaust survivor.
From Time Magazine Archive
Heat up de toddy an' pas' de wa'm glasses, Don' stop to shivah at blowin's an' blas'es, Keep on de kittle an' keep it a-hummin', Eat all an' drink all, dey's lots o' a-comin'.
From The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar by Howells, William Dean
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.
