Mezuzah
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21) and attached in a case to the doorpost of a house.
"On the other hand, one may feel profoundly moved with the spirit of true piety, love of God and loyalty to his commandments in the performance of a so-called "traditional commandment," like the fastening of a "mezuzah" to the door-post."
- 2 religious texts from Deuteronomy inscribed on parchment and rolled up in a case that is attached to the doorframe of many Jewish households in accordance with Jewish law wordnet
- 3 An object of similar function in the Samaritan tradition.
Example
More examples"On the other hand, one may feel profoundly moved with the spirit of true piety, love of God and loyalty to his commandments in the performance of a so-called "traditional commandment," like the fastening of a "mezuzah" to the door-post."
Etymology
From post-Biblical Hebrew מְזוּזָה (m'zuzá, məzûzâ, “doorpost”), with reference to Deuteronomy 6:9, a mitzvah (Biblical commandment as interpreted in Jewish law) ordering to “write the words of God on the gates and doorposts of your house”.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.