Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A group of seven.
- n. A period of seven days; a week.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The number seven; the idea of seven, or the quality of being seven in number.
- n. The sum of seven things; a collection of seven persons or things; specifically, a group of seven days; a week.
- n. In some Gnostic systems, a group of super-human beings, angels, or divine emanations; in the systems of Basilides and Valentinus, the sphere of the Demiurge, sublunary, and lower than the ogdoad, or a title of the Demiurge himself. The Gnostic uses of the word were apparently developed from the idea of the seven planets or planetary heavens, or that of gods, spirits, or angels personifying, indwelling, ruling, or creating them; then, in a collective sense, it came to mean the whole sublunary sphere, or its ruler.
Wiktionary
- n. A group of seven.
- n. A period of seven days, a week.
- n. Gnosticism A group of seven superhuman beings.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. rare A week; a period of seven days.
WordNet 3.0
- n. any period of seven consecutive days
Etymologies
- From Late Latin hebdomas, from Ancient Greek ἑβδομάς (hebdomas, "group of seven"), from ἑπτά (hepta, "seven") (Wiktionary)
- Latin hebdomas, hebdomad-, the number seven, from Greek, from hebdomos, seventh, from hepta, seven; see septm̥ in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“hebdomad", a series corresponding to the chief divinities of the pagan pantheon: from these are derived "forces", or "souls", which alone are operative in nature, although, since they are the lowest derivatives, their efficacy is least.”
“It's Holy Week, the most important hebdomad in the Christian calendar.”
“Because we do not accept their monstrous allegations, they say that we go on living in the hebdomad [the lower regions], as if we could not lift our minds to the things on high, nor understand the things that are above.”
“We caught up with BianRosa this hebdomad to intend an update.”
“[Marginal note: Quadragesime.] xl. et equitando, quantum equi trotare poterant, quoniam habebamus equos recentes fer� ter aut quater omni die, properabamus de mane vsque ad noctem, im� etiam de nocte s鎝issim�, nec tamen ante quartam feriam maioris hebdomad� potuimus ad ipsum peruenire.”
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation
“Their mother dwells in that place which is above the heavens, that is, in the intermediate abode; the Demiurge in the heavenly place, that is, in the hebdomad; but the Cosmocrator in this our world.”
ANF01. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus
“It is supposed that for the first three and a half years of the hebdomad (Da 9: 20-27), God will be worshipped in the temple; in the latter three and a half years,”
“Why he should choose to express that interval by fifty, rather than by fifty-two, weeks, may be surmised in two ways: first, because the latter phrase would be unpoetical and unmanageable; and, secondly, because he might fancy that the week of the Pagan Theseus would be more appropriately represented by a lunar quarter than by a Jewish hebdomad.”
“But on their new album, Seven Steps out Feb. 21, its members circle around the mysterious - and some might even say spiritual - power of the hebdomad.”
“Finally, about one hebdomad later begin to pre-pay your three loans.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘hebdomad’.
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250 Spelling Words
A selected sampling of words for intermediate and advanced spellers.
orecchiette, rhabdomancy, guayabera, orthoepy, opisthenar, maguey, proem, ciabatta, cioppino, banns, concinnity, asthenia and 237 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Williamsburg Spelling Bee
conusable, murenger, ohmmeter, quincunx, schipperke, mephitis, acharya, dysthymia, firkin, ciborium, fusillade, quinquennially and 23 more...
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Random
These are just some random words that I might find a list for someday.
troglodytism, chinkle, vasculum, sabz, cucullus, tricornigerous, cuboctahedron, eruca, gamp, pilum, taha, angelhood and 252 more...
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Wordie/Wordnik Curio Cabinet
Oddments culled from my "main" lists that belong in a display cabinet of their own, plus sundry other curiosities. :-)
zeugma, ziggurat, xiphoid, xeric, whizgigging, whangdoodle, viviparous, vivific, vinolent, verjuice, vellicate, velleity and 1193 more...
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looked up
Words I've come across while reading and looked up in the dictionary.
deesis, pendentive, revetment, aedicule, stemma, patera, ephod, entrepot, corbel, exedra, volute, archivolt and 1408 more...
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Vocabulary of Lord Rahl
Master Rahl guide us.
Master Rahl teach us.
Master Rahl protect us.
In your light we thrive.
In your mercy we are sheltered.
In your wisdom we are humbled.
internecine, antipodal, poliorcetics, haruspex, hejira, conventicle, ultroneous, Myrmidon, epic, fantasy, empire, victory and 121 more...
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kawy's list
subtrist, tricoteuse, undisonant, apricity, apricity, nudiustertian, snaste, chrestomath, chrestomath, velleity, zugzwang, muntin and 106 more...
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manyfold
kirigami, chohanagata, kusudama, origami, polyptych, scapulet, bromeliaceae, monopodial, crinkle, peplos, plicate, accordion and 60 more...
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♥
These words I LIKE.
laconic, blackrom, yandere, sundry, equivocal, tetracycline, raze, scapegoat, impala, perspicacity, quandary, viscous and 34 more...
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perhapsolutely's Words
polyradiculoneuro..., abulia, abubble, abscission, abaft, zareba, abatis, abigail, abiogenesis, ablate, ablaut, abo and 1705 more...
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measured words
inchworm, football, yardstick, quarter, octave, week, fortnight, sofer, pentecost, whitsunday, izzard, heshvan and 43 more...
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y so
atomic number 39, -ish, ying, yttriferous, thortveitite, xenotime, Feizi, holmium, atomic number 71, atomic number 68, veracious, samarskite and 21 more...
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Numbers
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New Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for hebdomad.
knitandpurl "The Councillors, not knowing what to do, kept their hands up or stuck in mid-motion. She approached their dazed hebdomad and their startled servants, stiffening her backbone, cocking the hammers of her eyes."
Aurorarama by Jean-Christophe Valtat, p 387 Jul 24, 2011
bilby It's only Monday so here's a chance to liven up your week! Oct 6, 2008