bat mitzvah. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

bat mitzvah

SYLLABICATION:	bat mitz·vah
PRONUNCIATION:	bät mtsv
VARIANT FORMS:	or bat miz·vah or bas mitz·vah or bas miz·vah (bäs)
NOUN:	1. In Conservative and Reform Judaism, a Jewish girl of 12 to 14 years of age, considered an adult and responsible for her moral and religious duties. 2. The ceremony that initiates and recognizes a girl as a bat mitzvah.
TRANSITIVE VERB:	Inflected forms: bat mitz·vahed, bat mitz·vah·ing, bat mitz·vahs To confirm in the ceremony of bat mitzvah.
ETYMOLOGY:	Hebrew bat miwâ : bat, daughter; see bn in Appendix II + miwâ, commandment; see mitzvah.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.