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Glite Dictionary
📜 Relating to Zevi 🧑‍🦱 A Zevi follower
Sabbatean

Sabbatean

1 9.9
A follower of Sabbatai Zevi, a 17th-century man who said he was the Messiah
  • noun
  • /ˌsæbəˈtiːən/
: sabbateo
  • Many historians study the impact of the Sabbateans on Jewish thought and mysticism in Europe.

Examples

  • The Sabbatean sects that developed in the aftermath were full of paradoxical beliefs and rituals.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • In the 17th century, a group of Jewish believers known as Sabbateans followed the teachings of Sabbatai Zevi, whom they believed to be the Messiah.

  • The Sabbatean stuff in particular is very important to understanding the mindset under discussion.

    Blog text (18)

  • Which is to say, he's a Sabbatean pretending to be a Zionist, and his job isn't to save Israel but to destroy it.

    Blog text (18)

  • The memoir described the experiences of a Sabbatean who faced persecution for their beliefs.

Surface Forms

Sabbatean singular
Sabbateans plural

Morphology

Sabbatean = Sabbatai (transparent) = Sabbatai + an

Formed by the productive denominal suffix '-an' yielding a noun meaning 'a person associated with Sabbatai'; morphologically regular though it depends on knowledge of the proper name.

Etymology

Sabbatean comes from the name Sabbatai, from the Hebrew Shabbat 'Sabbath'. A Sabbatean was a follower of Sabbatai Zevi, the 17th-century Jewish mystic who said he was the Messiah, so the noun means 'a follower of Sabbatai'.