Menorah

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7644
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

Menorah

Postby Dr. Goodword » Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:56 pm

• menorah •

Pronunciation: mê-nor-ê • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. A seven-branched candelabrum symbolizing the seven days of creation. 2. A nine-branched candelabrum used in the celebration of Hanukkah, also called the Hanukiah.

Notes: Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, is an eight-day holy season celebrating the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian (Seleucid) kings, who succeeded the short-lived empire of Alexander the Great. The Syrians forbad upholding Jewish law and prohibited Jewish services until defeated by Judas Maccabeus and his followers. When the second Temple of Jerusalem was rededicated about 165 BCE, there was only a one-day supply of oil for the Temple lamps. However, that one-day supply miraculously burned for eight full days.

In Play: Our Jewish friends are lighting one candle for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah in remembrance of this miracle. The ninth candle, called the Shamash and seated in the middle holder, is used to light the other eight. alphaDictionary wishes the worldwide Jewish community the happiest of Hanukkah seasons.

Word History: Today's Good Word comes from the Semitic root nwr "to shine "be(come) bright". Semitic languages, like Hebrew and Arabic, use vowels the way English uses prefixes and suffixes. Changing the vowels between the consonants changes the meaning of words the way prefixes and suffixes do in English. That doesn't mean Semitic languages do not use prefixes and suffixes; they use them, too. So with the prefix me- and the vowels O and A, we get today's Good Word: menorah "lamp, lampstand", related to ner "lamp". With the prefix ma- and the vowel A, we get Arabic manara "lamp, lighthouse", the origin of our minaret, akin to nur "light".
• The Good Dr. Goodword

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8599
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: Menorah

Postby Slava » Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:30 pm

Happy Holy Days to one and all.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Pepshort
Junior Lexiterian
Posts: 21
Joined: Sun Jul 07, 2013 6:59 am
Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Re: Menorah

Postby Pepshort » Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:58 pm

Thanks for the post on Menorah. To add and clarify: The word 'menorah' does refer to a candelabrum-type lamp, and many do refer to the Hanukkah lamp as a Menorah. Originally 'Menorah' referred only to the seven-branched candelabrum used in the first and second Jerusalem Temples (what is the source that it reflects the 7 days of creation?). The Hanukkah lamp was called the Hanukiah. Today, after the word Menorah has been used for millennia for both lamps: the Menorah as well as the Hanukkah lamp, there exists a mix up. I prefer the term Hannukah menorah, or the Hebrew word, Hanukiah to describe the nine branched one. I also prefer to write 'Chanukah', with a 'ch'; the 'ch' better reflects the proper guttural pronunciation of the Hebrew letter 'chet', the first letter of the word. Happy Chanukah - Chanukah Sameach!
"Luke, there is no try, there is either do or not do" -- Yoda

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8599
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: Menorah

Postby Slava » Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:12 pm

Shalom Aleichem.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

LukeJavan8
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 4427
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
Location: Land of the Flat Water

Re: Menorah

Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:25 pm

Happy Chanukah
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

Perry Lassiter
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 3333
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:41 pm
Location: RUSTON, LA
Contact:

Re: Menorah

Postby Perry Lassiter » Thu Dec 18, 2014 5:15 pm

Anglicizing Semitic consinants vary - K, Ch, C, Q. Koran, Quran.
pl


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot], Google [Bot], Semrush [Bot] and 2 guests