sabbatical

adjective sab·bat·i·cal \ sə-ˈba-ti-kəl \

variants: or less commonly sabbatic play \sə-ˈba-tik\

Updated on: 6 Sep 2017

Definition of sabbatical

1 :of or relating to a sabbatical year

2 :of or relating to the sabbath

sabbatical laws

See sabbatical defined for kids

Recent Examples of sabbatical from the Web

So began our family's sabbatical summer to Kauai, Hawaii; Hokkaido, Japan; northern Italy; and Norway.

— bonnie tsui, Redbook, "What It's Like to Travel Through 4 Countries In 3 Months With 2 Kids," 23 May 2017
Benefits offered at Charles Schwab include automatic enrollment in the 401(k) plan with company match, an employee stock ownership program, matching charitable gifts, and a sabbatical program for eligible workers after five years of service.

— lisa greim, The Denver Post, "Top large workplace 2017: USAA gets high marks for its mission to aid customers and employees," 7 Apr. 2017
Pleased with the rejuvenating results, Mr. Anderszewski, who plays a solo recital at Carnegie Hall on Friday, Feb. 17, took another sabbatical five years later, an extended break of 16 months.

— anthony tommasini, New York Times, "A Pianist’s Warsaw: ‘Fascination and Pain’," 10 Feb. 2017
DU Law professor Ann Vessels started the Veterans Advocacy Project in August 2015 after forming it during a sabbatical semester.

— joe vaccarelli, The Denver Post, "DU law students get hands-on experience helping veterans," 24 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sabbatical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sabbatical

Late Latin sabbaticus, from Greek sabbatikos, from sabbaton

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1599

See Words from the same year

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

sabbatical

noun

Definition of sabbatical

1 :sabbatical year 2

2 :leave 1b

3 :a break or change from a normal routine (as of employment)

See sabbatical defined for English-language learners

Examples of sabbatical in a Sentence

Several professors will be taking sabbaticals this year.
She recently returned to work after a two-year sabbatical from her acting career.
Several professors will be on sabbatical this year.

Recent Examples of sabbatical from the Web

Serena Williams is on a sabbatical, expecting her first baby sometime in the next month or so.

— howard fendrich, The Seattle Times, "US OPEN ’17: Which American players could make some noise?," 24 Aug. 2017
In 2014, Webster took a three-month sabbatical and recorded two compact discs of 14 and 15 of his original Americana songs, recording one at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals and another at Gat3MidSouth Recording Studio in Gadsden.

— greg garrison, AL.com, "Birmingham's First Presbyterian pastor plans to retire," 19 July 2017
Though summer is the season of joy and stone fruits and hooking up with an English dude visiting the States on sabbatical, the best season does take its toll on our city’s bike commuters.

— dayna evans, The Cut, "The Working Woman’s Guide to Commuting by Bike in the Swampy Heat of Summer," 18 July 2017
But the company takes things a step further, also offering its workers a $5,000 annual vacation stipend, $100 a month for fresh produce, $100 for home massages,16 weeks of paid parental leave, and tenured sabbaticals every three years.

— kelly o'sullivan, Country Living, "This Illinois Company Gives Its Employees $5,000 a Year to Go On Vacation," 30 June 2017
Angela, who’s taken a sabbatical from work to be a full-time mother, had previously endured numerous miscarriages before Cora was conceived via in vitro fertilization.

— frank scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Inconceivable': Film Review," 30 June 2017
Among non-family caregiver perks some companies are dangling include help in repaying student loans, gym memberships, sabbaticals, and healthcare insurance for pets.

— barb darrow, Fortune, "Microsoft Expands Paid Leave for Family Caregivers," 27 June 2017
In terms of a five to ten year plan, Philp would like to grow with the company, but also take time for some personal growth as well and hopefully take a summer sabbatical to be a river raft guide.

— mark fadden, star-telegram.com, "In Pursuit of Profession: Following the Frogs- three years later," 16 June 2017
Fingers crossed this outing winds up more inspired than the cookie-cutter Syndicate and Unity after the series’ sabbatical.

— brad chacos, PCWorld, "40 must-see PC gaming gems from E3 2017: Watch every trailer," 13 June 2017

The History of sabbatical and sabbath: Take a Break

We tend to think of sabbatical in academic terms, as a school year free from teaching duties that can be devoted to research, travel, and writing. Traditionally, this occurs every seventh year. Because of this scholarly context, we may easily miss what is hiding in plain sight: that sabbatical is related to Sabbath, which refers to the Biblical day of rest, or the seventh day. We trace the origins of both sabbatical and Sabbath to the Greek word sabbaton. Sabbaton itself traces to the Hebrew word shabbāth, meaning “rest.”

The Old Testament refers to God’s “day of rest” most famously in Genesis, but Sabbath referring to an entire year of rest is mentioned in Leviticus (25:3-5):

Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;

But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.

That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

Sabbatical is also used as an adjective to refer specifically to the rules governing the observance of the Sabbath, as in “sabbatical laws.”