Shabbat
/ʃəˈbɑːt/noun
The Jewish Sabbath, observed as a day of rest from Friday evening to Saturday night.
Did you know?Shabbat comes from the Hebrew root ש־ב־ת (š-b-t), meaning “to cease” or “to stop,” and it’s the same ancient idea behind the biblical Sabbath as a divinely commanded break from labor.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
PSem
*šbt
“to cease, stop, rest”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
שַׁבָּת (shabbāt)
“cessation; Sabbath rest”
Ancient Greek
Greek
σάββατον (sábbaton)
“Sabbath; week”
Late Latin
Latin
sabbatum
“Sabbath”
Old French
Old French
sabat
“Sabbath”
Middle English
English
sabot; sabbat
“Sabbath”