semikhah

S1E1M3I1K5H4A1H4

noun

The ordination of a rabbi.

OriginHebrew סְמִיכָה →
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nounsemikhah (countable and uncountable, plural semikhot)

plural semikhot · alternative semicha · alternative semikah · alternative smicha

  1. JudaismcountableuncountableThe ordination of a rabbi.

    One black hat shul in my neighborhood, when looking for a new pulpit rabbi, listed as one of their requirements that the rabbi needed to hold a four-year secular university degree in addition to his semicha.

    2010 March 8, cindys, “How Nazism Shaped Islamist Views”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated (Usenet)

Origin

  1. Hebrewסְמִיכָה
  2. Englishsemikhah

Borrowed from Hebrew סְמִיכָה (s'mikha).

More words from Hebrew

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

semikhah. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semikhah

MLA

“semikhah.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semikhah. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “semikhah,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semikhah.

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