menorah

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Hebrew מְנוֹרָה (m'norá). From the same Proto-Semitic root *nūr- (“light”) as minaret.

1. A holy candelabrum with seven branches used in the Temple of Jerusalem.

   “‘Heathen muck,’ Liberalis said, as the pillaging began. The veil of the Temple was rent. The great menorah was taken away.”

2. A candelabrum with nine branches, used in Jewish worship on Hanukkah.

   “My father brings home a big brass antique menorah, shaped like an archway, heavy, on a pedestal, on a round base.”

   “In America every December my mother had decorated our home with metal Stars of David she hung on strings in the doorways and lit the menorah as we gathered at the table.”