Sabbath

[ sab-uhth ]

noun
  1. the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as the day of rest and religious observance among Jews and some Christians.

  2. the Sabbath, the first day of the week, Sunday, observed by most Christians as a day of public worship and often of rest.

  1. any special day of prayer, worship, or rest.

  2. Often sabbath . a day or other period of rest or break from certain forms of activity: If people gave themselves a weekly sabbath from electronic devices, it would probably cure many ills.

  3. Sometimes sabbath . Sabbat (def. 2).

Origin of Sabbath

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English sabat, sabadt, sabath, Old English sabat, from Latin sabbatum, from Greek sábbaton, from Hebrew shabbāth “rest”

Other words from Sabbath

  • Sab·bath·less, adjective
  • Sab·bath·like, adjective

Words Nearby Sabbath

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Sabbath in a sentence

  • The prophet prayeth to be delivered from his enemies, and preacheth up the observance of the Sabbath.

  • Unlike many other teachers, Susy had not to go about enticing boys to her Sabbath class.

    The Garret and the Garden | R.M. Ballantyne
  • Many of these young men have been trained in the Sabbath school, but at nineteen or twenty a change comes over them.

    Gospel Philosophy | J. H. Ward
  • Death was declared an eternal sleep; God was declared a fiction, the Sabbath was abolished and religious worship denounced.

    Gospel Philosophy | J. H. Ward
  • This minister had been accused by his antagonist of having been seen taking a walk through one of the parks on the Sabbath.

    Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell

British Dictionary definitions for Sabbath

Sabbath

/ (ˈsæbəθ) /


noun
  1. the seventh day of the week, Saturday, devoted to worship and rest from work in Judaism and in certain Christian Churches

  2. Sunday, observed by Christians as the day of worship and rest from work in commemoration of Christ's Resurrection

  1. (not capital) a period of rest

  2. Also called: sabbat, witches' Sabbath a midnight meeting or secret rendezvous for practitioners of witchcraft, sorcery, or devil worship

Origin of Sabbath

1
Old English sabbat, from Latin sabbatum, from Greek sabbaton, from Hebrew shabbāth, from shābath to rest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Sabbath

Sabbath

The holy day of rest and reflection observed each Saturday among the Jews. This custom fulfills the fourth of the Ten Commandments (“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”). The Sabbath commemorates the last of the seven days of Creation as described in the Book of Genesis, the day God rested from his labors of creating the heavens and the Earth.

Notes for Sabbath

Christians have traditionally kept Sunday as a weekly day of rest in adaptation of the Jewish observance, and in commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Some denominations, such as the Seventh-Day Adventists, observe Saturday as the Sabbath.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.