kaddish

See also: Kaddish

English
WOTD – 27 January 2021

Etymology

Borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁ (kadish, “kaddish”), from Aramaic קַדִּישׁ (qaddīš, “holy; holy person”).[1] Doublet of kiddush.

The plural form kaddishim is borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁים (kadishim).

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkædɪʃ/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈkɑdɪʃ/
  • Rhymes: -ædɪʃ
  • Hyphenation: kad‧dish
  • Homophone: caddish

Noun

kaddish (plural kaddishes or kaddishim)

  1. (Judaism) A Jewish prayer of praise to God recited during services, and specifically when mourning the death of a close relative.
    • 1963, “Symphony No. 3 ‘Kaddish’”, Samuel Pisar (lyrics), Leonard Bernstein (music):
      O, my Father: ancient, hallowed
      Lonely, disappointed Father:
      Betrayed and rejected Ruler of the Universe:
      Angry, wrinkled Old Majesty:
      I want to pray
      I want to say Kaddish
      My own Kaddish. There may be
      No one to say it after me
    • 2023 October 14, Simon Schama, “Let us be, to grieve, rage, weep; say the mourners' kaddish”, in FT Weekend, page 9:
      So context me no contexts, analyse me no analyses, suspend your partially informed diagnoses; leave off your strenuous efforts at even-handedness. Let us be, to grieve, rage, weep; say the mourners' kaddish.

Alternative forms

Translations

References
  1. “Kaddish, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1901; “Kaddish, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading
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