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.
2 singular 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