It's the Word of the Day podcast for December 26th.

Today's word is menorah spelled M-E-N-O-R-A-H.

Monora is a noun. A monora is a candelabra with seven or nine lights that is used in Jewish worship.

Here's the word used in a sentence from USA Today by Anna Kaufman.

Rich with history and laced with just a bit of Latke Greece, Hanukkah is a time for Jews

to gather with family and friends and retell a fabled story of resistance.

While certain symbols of the holiday, like the menorah, a decorative candelabra,

and the dreidel, a four-sided spinning top, may be more easily recognizable in popular culture,

there is plenty more to learn about Hanukkah and why it's celebrated. In English, the word

menorah was originally the name for a seven-branched candelabra used in Jewish worship. The nine-branched

Hanukkah candelabra is called Hanakaya in Hebrew, but English speakers came to use menorah for this too. The Hanukkah

menorah recalls expulsion by Judah Maccabee of invading forces from the Temple of Jerusalem.

Maccabee and his followers sought oil for the temple's menorah so that the sanctuary could be

rededicated, but they found only enough oil for a

single day. Miraculously, that tiny amount of oil burned for eight days until a new supply could be

obtained. The Hanukkah menorah includes a candle for each day the oil burned, plus the

shamus, a servant candle that is used to light the others.

With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.

Visit Miriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups.