shamash
/ʃəˈmɑʃ//ʃəˈmæʃ/
shamash noun: the candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah.
Noun
shamash (plural shamashim or shamashes)
- The candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah.
- The candelabras lit on Hanukkah are technically called hanukkiahs. They have eight candles plus one more, a shamash, that is used for lighting the others.2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times
- A sexton in a synagogue.
- Until 1890, when the local Chevra Kadisha (a traditional Jewish funerary society) was set up, funeral services were performed by the shamashim, the beadles of the synagogues.1997, Michael Stivelman, The Death March
Proper noun capitalized: Shamash
Shamash
Forms of shamash
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | shamashim |
| plural | shamashes |
| alternative form | shames |
| alternative form | shamos |
| alternative form | shammes |
| alternative form | shammos |
| Proper noun | |
| alternative form | Šamaš |
Origin of shamash
From Hebrew שַׁמָּשׁ (shamásh, “waiter, sexton”). Doublet of shammes, via Yiddish.
From Akkadian Šamaš, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *śamš-. Compare shin.
Words that rhyme with shamash
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- hash
- mash
- rash
- plash
- thrash
- cache
- gash
- gnash
- goulash
- pash
- rehash
- sash
- stash
- bash
- bedash
- brash
- fash
- ganache
- overlash
- potash
- slapdash
- abash
- backslash
- backsplash
- calash
- gatecrash
- Kash
- midrash
- mishmash
- panache
- shash
- stramash
- taplash
- apache
- bardash
- berdache
- Chumash
- encash
- haberdash
- heat rash
- keysmash
- Lagash
- Malagash
- Miminegash
- newsflash
- outflash
- overrash
- pearlash
Questions about shamash
- What does shamash mean?
- Shamash means the candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah.
- What part of speech is shamash?
- Shamash can be a noun or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce shamash?
- Shamash is pronounced /ʃəˈmæʃ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of shamash?
- The plural of shamash is shamashim.
Words near shamash in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shamash (page history and authors); Shamash (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-shamash.wav.
Cite this entry: “shamash.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shamash. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.