Main Entry:

Mac·ca·bees

Pronunciation:

\ˈma-kə-(ˌ)bēz\

Function:

noun plural

Etymology:

Greek Makkabaioi, from plural of Makkabaios, surname of Judas Maccabaeus 2d century b.c. Jewish patriot

Date:

1587

1: a priestly family leading a Jewish revolt begun in 168 b.c. against Hellenism and Syrian rule and reigning over Palestine from 142 b.c. to 63 b.c.2singular in construction : either of two narrative and historical books included in the Roman Catholic canon of the Old Testament and in the Protestant Apocrypha — see bible table

— Mac·ca·be·an \ˌma-kə-ˈbē-ən\ adjective