shammes

 [shah-muhs]  

sham·mes

   [shah-muhs]
noun, plural sham·mo·sim  [shah-maw-sim] .
1.
sexton (def. 2).
2.
the candle used to kindle the candles in the Hanukkah menorah.
Also, shames.

Origin:
1945–50; < Yiddish shames < Hebrew shammāsh server, attendant
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Shammes is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
shammes or shammash (ˈʃɑːməs, Hebrew ʃaˈmaʃ, ˈʃɑːməs, Hebrew ʃaˈmaʃ)
 
—n , pl shammosim, shammashim
1.  an official acting as the beadle, sexton, and caretaker of a synagogue
2.  the extra candle used on the Feast of Hanukkah to kindle the lamps or candles of the menorah
 
[from Hebrew shāmmāsh, from Aramaic shĕmāsh to serve]
 
shammash or shammash (ˈʃɑːməs, Hebrew ʃaˈmaʃ, ˈʃɑːməs, Hebrew ʃaˈmaʃ, ʃaˈmɔsɪm)
 
—n
 
[from Hebrew shāmmāsh, from Aramaic shĕmāsh to serve]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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