Yom Kippur

Yom Kip·pur

noun \ˌyōm-ki-ˈpu̇r, ˌyȯm-, ˌyäm-; -ˈki-pər, -(ˌ)pu̇r\

Definition of YOM KIPPUR

: a Jewish holiday observed with fasting and prayer on the 10th day of Tishri in accordance with the rites described in Leviticus 16 —called also Day of Atonement

Origin of YOM KIPPUR

Hebrew yōm kippūr, literally, day of atonement

First Known Use: 1854

Other Calendar Terms

antedate, estival, gloaming, luster, sesquicentennial

Rhymes with YOM KIPPUR

Big Dipper, blue-chipper, day-tripper, horsewhipper, mudskipper

Yom Kippur

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Jewish religious holiday, observed on the 10th day of the lunar month of Tishri (in late September or early October). It concludes the 10 days of repentance that begin with Rosh Hashanah. Its purpose is to purify the individual and community by forgiving the sins of others and by repenting one's own sins against God. Before the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, the high priest performed a sacrificial ceremony that concluded with the death of a scapegoat. Today it is marked by fasting and abstention from sex. Its eve, when the Kol Nidre is recited, and the entire day of Yom Kippur, are spent in prayer and meditation.

Variants of YOM KIPPUR

Yom Kippur English Day of Atonement