menorah means A holy candelabrum with seven branches used in the Temple of Jerusalem. It carries an Arena rating of 1586, earned across 26 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, menorah ranks #632 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,760 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #2,495 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #2,891 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
menorah is pronounced /mɪˈnɔːɹə/.
Why “menorah” is a great word
MENORAH — [Noun] A candelabrum used in Jewish worship, historically a seven-branched lampstand for the Temple and now commonly a nine-branched one used during Hanukkah. Borrowed from Hebrew מְנוֹרָה (m'norá, "lampstand, candlestick"), from the Proto-Semitic root *nūr- ("light"). First attested in English in 1886. Unlike "hanukkiah," which specifically denotes the nine-branched Hanukkah lamp, or "candelabra," a general, often secular term for branched candle holders, the menorah is a vessel of specific memory and symbol. It is the solid gold of the ancient Temple, the nightly increment of flame in a winter window, and the public silhouette cast against stone—a branching genealogy of light against the dark, counting its increments through time.
Etymology
Borrowed from Hebrew מְנוֹרָה (m'norá). From the same Proto-Semitic root *nūr- (“light”) as minaret.
noun
- A holy candelabrum with seven branches used in the Temple of Jerusalem.e.g.“‘Heathen muck,’ Liberalis said, as the pillaging began. The veil of the Temple was rent. The great menorah was taken away.” — 1985, Anthony Burgess, The Kingdom of the Wicked:
- A candelabrum with nine branches, used in Jewish worship on Hanukkah.e.g.“My father brings home a big brass antique menorah, shaped like an archway, heavy, on a pedestal, on a round base.” — 1992, Merrill Joan Gerber, The Kingdom of Brooklyn, Syracuse University Press, published 2000, →ISBN, pages 76–77:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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