kiddush

K5I1D2D2U1S1H4
/ˈkɪdʊʃ//ˈkɪdɪʃ//kiːˈduːʃ/

noun

A blessing recited over wine or grape juice in commemoration of the sanctity of the Shabbat or other Jewish holy day.

UncommonScrabble 16

Meanings

nounkiddush (plural kiddushes or kiddushim)

plural kiddushes · plural kiddushim · alternative Kiddush · alternative kiddish

  1. JudaismA blessing recited over wine or grape juice in commemoration of the sanctity of the Shabbat or other Jewish holy day.

    Cohn began the seder with a kiddush for wine, and the first two toasts he proposed were the traditional ones to life and to freedom.

    1982, Bernard Malamud, “The Schooltree”, in God’s Grace, New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
    1 more example

    The world’s richest Jew may have pledged to give the vast majority of his wealth to charity, but Mark Zuckerberg’s great-grandfather’s kiddush cup is staying in the family. […] “For shabbat tonight, we gave Max a kiddush cup that has been in our family for almost 100 years,” the 33-year-old billionaire wrote on his Facebook social media platform.

    2017 September 17, “Mark Zuckerberg gives family heirloom kiddush cup to daughter”, in The Times of Israel
  2. JudaismabbreviationclippingClipping of kiddush luncheon (“a light luncheon following a morning synagogue service typically serving grape juice, challah, and cold food, and especially following a bar or bat mitzvah”).

Origin

  1. Hebrewקִדּוּשׁ“kiddush”
  2. Englishkiddush

Borrowed from Hebrew קִדּוּשׁ (kidúsh, “kiddush”, literally “sanctification”). Doublet of kaddish.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

kiddush. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kiddush

MLA

“kiddush.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kiddush. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kiddush,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kiddush.

Source: kiddush on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.