MEGILLAH — ( Scroll ), tenth tractate in the order Mo ed, in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. Megillah, in four chapters, deals with liturgical readings from the Bible, especially with the reading of the scroll of esther on purim… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
megillah — long, tedious, complicated story, 1957, from Yiddish (e.g. a gantse Megillah a whole megillah ), lit. roll, scroll, collective name of the five Old Testament books appointed to be read on certain feast days, from Hebrew meghillah, from galal he… … Etymology dictionary
megillah — [mə gil′ə] n. [Yiddish < Heb megillāh, scroll, roll] Slang 1. a long or involved explanation, story, etc. 2. a complicated matter … English World dictionary
MEGILLAH — (Heb. מְגִּלָּה; scroll ), designation of each of the five scrolls of the Bible (ruth , song of songs , lamentations , ecclesiastes , esther ). When the scroll is not specifically named, the term Megillah most commonly refers to the scroll of… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
megillah — [ma”gila] n. a long and complicated story. (From Hebrew megillah via Yiddish.) □ He struggled through this megillah and nobody believed him. □ Here you come in here with this megillah about a flat tire and how your brother in law stole your jack… … Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions
megillah — noun Etymology: Yiddish megile, from Hebrew mĕgillāh scroll, volume (used especially of the Book of Esther, read aloud at the Purim celebration) Date: 1943 slang a long involved story or account < the whole megillah > … New Collegiate Dictionary
megillah — /meuh gil euh/; for 2 also Seph. Heb. /meuh gee lah /, n., pl. megillahs, Seph. Heb. megilloth, megillot / gee lawt /. 1. Slang. a. a lengthy, detailed explanation or account: Just give me the facts, not a whole megillah. b. a lengthy and… … Universalium
Megillah — [mə gɪlə] noun each of the books of the Hebrew scriptures (the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther) appointed to be read on certain Jewish notable days. Phrases the whole megillah N. Amer. informal something in its… … English new terms dictionary
megillah — n A tediously detailed account. You don t have to give me the whole megillah, just the highlights. 1940s … Historical dictionary of American slang
megillah — (meh GIL lah) [Yiddish: scroll; Hebrew: the Book of Esther] An overly detailed account or narrative; an unnecessarily lengthy explanation. The President and First Lady wanted it to be less of a megillah Time, January 20, 1997 … Dictionary of foreign words and phrases
