mezuzah

or me·zu·za

[ muh-zoo z-uh; Sephardic Hebrew muh-zoo-zah; Ashkenazic Hebrew muh-zoo -zuh ]
/ məˈzʊz ə; Sephardic Hebrew mə zuˈzɑ; Ashkenazic Hebrew məˈzʊ zə /

noun, plural me·zu·zoth, me·zu·zot, me·zu·zos [Sephardic Hebrew muh-zoo-zawt; Ashkenazic Hebrew muh-zoo -zohs] /Sephardic Hebrew mə zuˈzɔt; Ashkenazic Hebrew məˈzʊ zoʊs/; English me·zu·zahs. Judaism.

a parchment scroll inscribed on one side with the Biblical passages Deut. 6:4–9 and 11:13–21 and on the other side with the word Shaddai (a name applied to God), inserted in a small case or tube so that Shaddai is visible through an aperture in front, and attached by some Jews to the doorpost of the home.

Origin of mezuzah

First recorded in 1640–50, mezuzah is from the Hebrew word məzūzāh literally, doorpost

Words nearby mezuzah

mezcaline, meze, mezereon, mezereum, mezlocillin, mezuzah, mezza voce, mezzaluna, mezzanine, mezzo, mezzo forte

Example sentences from the Web for mezuzah

  • There they paused to kiss the divine name on the Mezuzah of the door-post.

    The Imported Bridegroom |Abraham Cahan

  • It was strange to me to live in a place in which every door-post bore a Mezuzah.

    Ghetto Tragedies |Israel Zangwill

  • In his perturbation he even forgets to kiss the mezuzah on the doorpost.

    The Promised Land |Mary Antin

British Dictionary definitions for mezuzah

mezuzah
/ (məˈzʊzə, -ˈzuː-, Hebrew məzʊˈzɑ, Yiddish məˈzʊzə) /

noun plural -zuzahs or -zuzoth (Hebrew -zuˈzɔt) Judaism

a piece of parchment inscribed with biblical passages and fixed to the doorpost of the rooms of a Jewish house
a metal case for such a parchment, sometimes worn as an ornament

Word Origin for mezuzah

from Hebrew, literally: doorpost