Yom Kippur

[yawm kip-er, yohm, yom; Sephardic Hebrew yawm kee-poor; Ashkenazic Hebrew yohm ki-puh r] /yɔm ˈkɪp ər, yoʊm, yɒm; Sephardic Hebrew ˈyɔm kiˈpur; Ashkenazic Hebrew yoʊm ˈkɪ pər/

noun

a Jewish high holy day observed on the 10th day of the month of Tishri by abstinence from food and drink and by the daylong recitation of prayers of repentance in the synagogue.

Also called Day of Atonement.

Origin

< Hebrew, equivalent to yōm day + kippūr atonement

British Dictionary definitions for Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur

/jɒm ˈkɪpə; Hebrew jɔm kiˈpur/

noun

an annual Jewish holiday celebrated on Tishri 10 as a day of fasting, on which prayers of penitence are recited in the synagogue throughout the day Also called Day of Atonement

Word Origin

from Hebrew, from yōm day + kippūr atonement

Word Origin and History for Yom Kippur

Jewish holiday, 1854, from Mishnaic Hebrew yom kippur (in Biblical Hebrew, yom kippurim), literally "day of atonement," from yom "day" + kippur "atonement, expiation."

Yom Kippur in Culture

Yom Kippur [(yohm ki-poor, yom kup-uhr)]

In Judaism, the Day of Atonement, the most important religious holiday; a day of fasting to atone for sins. It comes in autumn. (See Rosh Hashanah.)