Shamash
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah. Judaism
"The candelabras lit on Hanukkah are technically called hanukkiahs. They have eight candles plus one more, a shamash, that is used for lighting the others."
- 2 A sexton in a synagogue.
"Until 1890, when the local Chevra Kadisha (a traditional Jewish funerary society) was set up, funeral services were performed by the shamashim, the beadles of the synagogues."
- 1 The sun god and god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu.
Example
More examples"The candelabras lit on Hanukkah are technically called hanukkiahs. They have eight candles plus one more, a shamash, that is used for lighting the others."
Etymology
From Akkadian Šamaš, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *śamš-. Compare shin.
From Hebrew שַׁמָּשׁ (shamásh, “waiter, sexton”). Doublet of shammes, via Yiddish.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.