It's the Most Word-ful Time of the Year!: It's Lit: Hanukkah Words, December 14–December 22

Hanukkah is a festival of lights that marks a historic event. Brighten up your vocabulary with these luminous words.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ancient
    belonging to times long past
    The ancient board game is famously complex, with more possible configurations for pieces than atoms in the observable universe. The Verge (Nov 27, 2019)
    Ancient comes from the Latin prefix ante-, meaning "before," as in antechamber or antebellum. It's traditionally used to refer to the period before the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE.
  2. dedication
    a ceremony in which something is given to a goal or purpose
    This year’s ceremony will include the dedication of a laurel oak tree in the memory of Michael J. Costello, the Lake Windsor football captain, who was killed by lightning on September 5. Tangerine
    Hanukkah translates as dedication; the holiday commemorates the retaking of Jerusalem and the rededication of the Temple by Maccabean Jews in 165 BCE. Sacred, purified oil was needed to keep the Temple menorah lit, but there was only enough for one day. Miraculously, it lasted eight days, until more oil could be obtained, and the holiday was declared to celebrate this event.
  3. festival
    an organized series of acts and performances
    Maisel’s play is structured in eight episodes corresponding to the Jewish festival of lights, with each night of candle-lighting set in a successive decade to illuminate a different stage of Rebecca’s life. Los Angeles Times (Nov 25, 2019)
  4. latke
    a pancake made of grated potato
    And on Ms. Cannady’s birthday, Ms. Hand made her specialty: potato latkes and applesauce. New York Times (Nov 9, 2019)
    Potato pancakes are a traditional Hanukkah food. Similar to hash browns, they're best when fried in duck, goose, or chicken fat. Eating fried food acknowledges the story behind the holiday: lamp oil that miraculously lasted eight days. Latke is a Yiddish word, derived from the Russian latka, meaning pastry or Ukrainian oladka, "fritter."
  5. menorah
    a seven- or nine-branched candelabrum used in Jewish worship
    A menorah will be positioned adjacent to the toll plaza on the New Jersey side of the tunnel. Washington Times (Nov 26, 2019)
    Each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, another candle is added to the menorah and lit. The shamash, or "attendant", occupies the center spot and is used to light the other candles.
  6. dreidel
    a four-sided top used in a game played during Hanukkah
    At first, he couldn’t figure out the purpose of a dreidel—a four-sided spinning top that’s played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. Endgame
  7. miracle
    a marvelous event brought about by a divine being
    As if they were standing before a miracle, my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and Mr. Lucas continued praising the Lord like they were in church. Gone Crazy in Alabama
  8. ritual
    the prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies
    This oil was the only thing needed to perform the ritual, that and the holy authority resting in my father’s misshapen hands. Educated
  9. synagogue
    the place of worship for a Jewish congregation
    He passed a quaint old synagogue on Freiheit street, a bright Star of David rising above its peaked roof. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
  10. taper
    stick of wax with a wick in the middle
    Maybe it’s time to bring back the classic charm of tall white tapers in classic holders. Washington Post (Nov 12, 2019)
    Taper is a cool word for a candle, and may originate in the Egyptian word papyrus, where we also get paper. Papyrus is made from pounding the pith of a marsh plant into sheets; the Egyptians began using it around 6,000 years ago for writing and drawing, and also as wicks for lamps.
  11. temple
    the place of worship for a Jewish congregation
    The temple, built in 1900, is the second oldest synagogue in the state and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Reuters (Nov 22, 2019)
    According to the Bible, the original Temple in Jerusalem was built by king Solomon. It was damaged in several wars over the following centuries, and totally destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was completed on the same spot in 515 BCE and ultimately destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. After the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, the Dome of The Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque were built on the Temple Mount.
  12. tradition
    a specific practice of long standing
    Obviously, expressing gratitude is the whole point of the holiday, but many people nowadays see this American tradition as an obstacle between them and the turkey and gravy. Fox News (Nov 27, 2019)
  13. worship
    the activity of cherishing as divine
    The most impressive sequence involved the statue that Nebuchadnezzar orders built for worship. New York Times (Nov 25, 2019)
Created on Mon Nov 25 20:58:04 EST 2019 (updated Mon Oct 03 13:12:36 EDT 2022)

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