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• shiva
  shiva

  noun

  the traditional seven-day period of mourning observed by Jews immediately following the funeral of a parent, sibling, child, or spouse.
• Shiva
  Shiva

  noun

  “the Destroyer,” the third member of the Trimurti, along with Brahma the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver.

shiva

¹ American  

[shiv-uh] / ˈʃɪv ə /

Also shibah or shivah

noun

1. the traditional seven-day period of mourning observed by Jews immediately following the funeral of a parent, sibling, child, or spouse.

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idioms

1. sit shiva, to observe this period.

Shiva ² American  

[shee-vuh] / ˈʃi və /

Also Siva

noun

Hinduism.

1. “the Destroyer,” the third member of the Trimurti, along with Brahma the Creator and Vishnu the Preserver.

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Shiva British  

/ ˈʃiːvə, ˈʃɪvə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of Siva

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Other Word Forms

• Shivaism
  noun
• Shivaist
  noun
• Shivaistic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of shiva¹

First recorded in 1890–95; from Ashkenazi pronunciation of Hebrew shibhʿāh “seven”

Origin of Shiva²

From Sanskrit: literally, “the auspicious”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shiva Shiva

We sit shiva, a formal seven days of grief in which mourners stay at home, wear torn clothing, cover mirrors, sit on low stools and silently feel their loss.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Sitting shiva and reciting kaddish help a lost one’s memory become a blessing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

In the Jewish tradition, after someone dies, you sit shiva for a week.

From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2025

And in some ways, we are still in shiva now, but not so intensively.

From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2025

They buried him before sundown that day and we sat shiva for him.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

Hindus regard Kailash as the abode of deities Shiva and Parvati, while Tibetan Buddhists associate it with Mount Meru, which they say is the centre of the universe.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

In an 1803 etching and aquatint with watercolor by Thomas Daniell, we see Gangaram absorbed in sketching wall reliefs of Shiva and Parvati from a rock-cut cave at Ellora.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

Sembiyan prayed to Nataraja, a hitherto little-known form of Hindu god Shiva as the King of Dance, and all her temples featured him prominently.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2025

Aloo Kumar, 55, wanted to express her gratitude to Lord Shiva, one of Hinduism’s three most important deities.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 27, 2024

One aspect of the deity, Nishkala Shiva, was literally the Shiva “without parts.’

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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