synagogue

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɪnəɡɒɡ/ (UK); /ˈsɪnəˌɡɑɡ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sinagoge,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French sinagoge,^[2][3][5][4] from Late Latin synagōga (“congregation of Jews”),^{[2][3][5][6][4]} from Ancient Greek συναγωγή (sunagōgḗ, “meeting, assembly; synagogue”),^{[2][3][5][6][4]} from συνάγειν (sunágein) “to bring together”, from Ancient Greek σύν (sún, “together”) + ἄγω (ágō, “to lead, bring”).^{[2][3][5][6][7]} In the Greek Old Testament it was used as a loan translation of late Hebrew כְּנֶסֶת (kəneset) “assembly”, as in בֵּית כְּנֶסֶת (bēt kəneset), “house of assembly”, a synagogue (compare Knesset).^[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The regular assembly of Jews for religious instruction and worship, and the building where they met (c. 1175).^[9][3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

Both the congregation and the building are recorded from the late 12th century.^[9][3][5] Old French sinagoge was also used of a mosque or pagan temple,^[5] and in Middle English the word could mean any place of worship (c. 1400) or simply an assembly, chiefly as a literal biblical translation.^[9] In hostile controversy it was used in the phrase synagogue of Satan (1464).^[9] The Great Synagogue was a Jewish council said to have been founded by Ezra after the Babylonian exile (1625).^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1175 – sinagoge, a Jewish congregation and its meeting place.^[9][3]
• about 1300 – spelling synagogue.^[3]
• c. 1400 – any place of worship (obsolete).^[9]
• 1625 – the Great Synagogue.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A building or place of worship and religious instruction for a Jewish congregation, often also a communal centre.
2. A congregation of Jews gathered for worship or religious study.
3. The Jewish religion as organized in local congregations; Judaism.

Word family

• synagogical
• synagogal

Related words

• Knesset
• agent
• act
• pedagogue
• demagogue

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Hendrickson, Robert (2008), The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, 4th ed., New York: Facts on File
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press