shammas
shammas is the alternative form of shamash.
Meaning of shamash
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: Shammas
Shammas (plural Shammases)
- A surname from Arabic.
Forms of shammas
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | shammasim |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Shammases |
Origin of shammas
Borrowed from Arabic شماس (šammās, “deacon, sexton”), a popular surname in the Christian community.
Questions about shammas
- What does shammas mean?
- Shammas means a surname from Arabic.
- What is shammas the alternative form of?
- Shammas is the alternative form of shamash.
- What part of speech is shammas?
- Shammas is a proper noun.
Words near shammas in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shammas (page history and authors); Shammas (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.
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Cite this entry: “shammas.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shammas. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.