Kedusha
/kəˈduːʃə/noun
A Jewish liturgical recitation proclaiming God’s holiness, especially during the Amidah and other prayers.
Did you know?Kedusha’s central proclamation, “Holy, holy, holy,” echoes Isaiah 6:3, portraying worshippers as joining the heavenly angels’ own chant.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*q-d-š
“A reconstructed root meaning “to be holy” or “to be set apart.””
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
קֹדֶשׁ (qódesh)
“Holiness, sacredness, or a holy place or thing.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
קָדוֹשׁ (qādōsh)
“Holy; set apart as sacred.”
Second Temple period
Hebrew
קְדֻשָּׁה (qĕdūshshāh)
“Holiness or sanctification; the noun later became associated especially with liturgical declarations of God’s holiness.”
Rabbinic Hebrew
Rabbinic Hebrew
קדושה (kedushah)
“A liturgical sanctification, particularly the congregational recitation within Jewish prayer.”
Modern English
English
kedusha
“A Jewish prayer recitation praising God’s holiness, commonly transliterated from Hebrew קדושה.”