Yom Kippur
/ˌjɒm kɪˈpʊər/noun
The Jewish Day of Atonement, observed as a solemn day of fasting, prayer, repentance, and reconciliation.
Did you know?The Hebrew root of kippur is associated with covering or wiping away, giving atonement the ancient image of wrongdoing being removed from a person’s moral record.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*yawm
“Day or period of daylight”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
yom
“Day”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
kippur
“Atonement, expiation, or covering over of wrongdoing”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
Yom Kippur
“Day of Atonement, the holiest annual day in the Jewish calendar”
19th Century
English
Yom Kippur
“English borrowing of the Hebrew name for the Jewish Day of Atonement”
Modern English
English
Yom Kippur
“A solemn Jewish holy day marked by fasting, prayer, repentance, and reconciliation”