Kippur
/kiˈpuːr/noun
Atonement, especially as used in the Jewish festival Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Did you know?The Hebrew noun kippur comes from the root K-P-R, also associated with ritual purification and the kapporet, the sacred cover over the Ark of the Covenant.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*kpr
“A reconstructed root associated with covering, wiping away, or expiation; the precise original sense remains debated.”
Ancient Akkadian
Akkadian
kuppuru
“To wipe off, cleanse, or ritually purify.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
kipper
“To make atonement or ritually purge sin.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
kippurim
“Atonements or acts of expiation.”
Medieval Hebrew
Hebrew
Yom Kippur
“Day of Atonement.”
Modern English
English
Kippur
“A borrowing used especially in the name Yom Kippur.”