Main Entry: Kara·ism

Pronunciation: \ˈker-ə-ˌi-zəm, ˈka-rə-\

Function: noun

Etymology: Late Hebrew qĕrāīm Karaites, from Hebrew qārā to read

Date: circa 1883

: a Jewish doctrine originating in Baghdad in the eighth century that rejects rabbinism and talmudism and bases its tenets on Scripture alone

— Kara·ite \-ˌīt\ noun