mezuzah

American

[muh-zooz-uh, muh-zoo-zah, muh-zoo-zuh] / məˈzʊz ə, mə zuˈzɑ, məˈzʊ zə /

Or mezuza

noun

plural

mezuzoth, mezuzot, mezuzos,

plural

mezuzahs

Judaism. a parchment scroll inscribed on one side with the Biblical passages Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21 and on the other side with the word Shaddai (a name applied to God), inserted in a small case or tube so that Shaddai is visible through an aperture in front, and attached by some Jews to the doorjambs of the home.

mezuzah British

/ məˈzʊzə, məˈzʊzə, -ˈzuː-, məzʊˈzɑ /

noun

a piece of parchment inscribed with biblical passages and fixed to the doorpost of the rooms of a Jewish house
a metal case for such a parchment, sometimes worn as an ornament

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mezuzah

First recorded in 1640–50; from Hebrew məzūzāh, literally, “doorjamb, doorpost”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We did not have mezuzahs in the doorways.

From Literature

The house has been in my mother’s family for generations, and the same mezuzah has hung on the doorpost for as long as anyone can remember.

From Literature

Around his neck he wears as a pendant a mezuzah, which contains a small scroll with verses from the Torah.

From Los Angeles Times

"Every house in a Jewish town has a mezuzah on the door, which is like a little tube with a little Torah scroll inside and when you come through, you touch it."

From BBC

Many Jews have removed mezuzahs - the small Torah scrolls - from their doorposts, or they have covered them with duct tape out of fear of reprisal.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023