menorah

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 28, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>menorah</strong> &#149; \muh-NOR-uh\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>A <em>menorah</em> is a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/candelabra">candelabra</a> with seven or nine lights that is used in Jewish worship.</p> <p>// At sundown on the first night of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hanukkah">Hanukkah</a>, Aaron's father helped him light the first candle on the <em>menorah</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/menorah">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"The world's largest <em>menorah</em> went up in Manhattan on Tuesday and will be lit on Thursday after sundown…." — ABC7 (New York), 10 Dec. 2020</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>In English, <em>menorah</em> was originally the name for the seven-branched candelabra used in Jewish worship. The nine-branched <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hanukkah">Hanukkah</a> candelabra is called <em>hanukkiah</em> in Hebrew, but English speakers came to use <em>menorah</em> for this too. The Hanukkah menorah recalls expulsion by Judah Maccabee of invading forces from the Temple of Jerusalem. Maccabee and his followers sought oil for the temple's menorah so that the sanctuary could be rededicated, but they found only enough oil for a single day. Miraculously, that tiny amount of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply could be obtained. The Hanukkah menorah includes a candle for each day the oil burned, plus the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shammes">shammes</a>, a "servant candle" that is used to light the others.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>