Yom Kippur

[ yawm kip-er, yohm, yom; Sephardic Hebrew yawmkee-poor; Ashkenazic Hebrew yohm ki-puhr ]

nounJudaism.
  1. a Jewish high holy day observed on the 10th day of the month of Tishri by abstinence from food and drink and by the daylong recitation of prayers of repentance in the synagogue.

Origin of Yom Kippur

1
From Hebrew, equivalent to yōm “day” + kippūr “atonement”
  • Also called Day of A·tone·ment [deyuhvuh-tohn-muhnt] /ˈdeɪ əv əˈtoʊn mənt/ .

Words Nearby Yom Kippur

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British Dictionary definitions for Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur

/ (jɒm ˈkɪpə, Hebrew jɔm kiˈpur) /


noun
  1. an annual Jewish holiday celebrated on Tishri 10 as a day of fasting, on which prayers of penitence are recited in the synagogue throughout the day: Also called: Day of Atonement

Origin of Yom Kippur

1
from Hebrew, from yōm day + kippūr atonement

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

Cultural definitions for Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur

[ (yohm ki-poor, yom kup-uhr) ]


In Judaism, the Day of Atonement, the most important religious holiday; a day of fasting to atone for sins. It comes in autumn. (See Rosh Hashanah.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.