Day of Atonement
2
6.9
- noun
:
Día de la Expiación
- During the Day of Atonement, many Jews fast and seek forgiveness for their sins.
Examples
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It hit one evening while walking home from the synagogue on Kol Nidre, the eve of the Jewish Day of Atonement.
Academic text (2002) -
I am sitting in the synagogue on the Day of Atonement.
Fiction book (1997) -
The Day of Atonement atones for sins against God, not for sins against man, unless the injured party has been appeased.
Blog text (5) -
On the Day of Atonement, the high priest offered a bull and one of two goats as a sacrifice and then entered the Holy of Holies.
Academic text (2005) -
The move to winter time ahead of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and holiest date on the Jewish calendar, has been standard practice for decades and enshrined in law since 2005.
Blog text (22) -
The Kol Nidre is the holiest Jewish prayer and is recited several times on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Blog text (28) -
This inscription is accompanied by a crudely inscribed image of a shofar, a special type of horn used on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.
Academic text (2008) -
On the Day of Atonement, Jewish people gather to pray and reflect on their actions over the past year.
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Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is observed with solemn ceremonies and prayer.
Synonyms
7
5.8
A day in the Jewish year when people fast and pray to ask for forgiveness
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound meaning 'a day for atonement' is directly compositional from 'day' (a day set aside) and 'atonement' (making amends), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer it denotes a day devoted to repentance or making amends. Specific religious details (timing, rituals) require cultural knowledge, but the core semantic relation is transparent and cross-linguistically recognizable.
Etymology
Day of Atonement is the English name for the Jewish holy day called Yom Kippur, when people fast, pray, and ask for forgiveness as a way 'to make things right' for past wrongs. So the name points to a special, very holy day set aside for fasting and saying sorry.