shamash
/ʃəˈmæʃ/noun
shamash is spelled S-H-A-M-A-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 145,125th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shamash means “The candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shamash is shamashim or shamashes.
How many letters and syllables are in shamash?
| Letters | 7: S-H-A-M-A-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 23 million words; the 145,125th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is shamash?
Shamash appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 145,125th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce shamash?
- UK /ʃəˈmæʃ/
- /ʃəˈmɑʃ/
- /ʃɑˈmɑʃ/
Shamash has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-shamash.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with shamash?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shamash from its last stressed vowel (/æʃ/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of shamash
- shamashim plural
- shamashes plural
- shames
- shamos
- shammes
- shammos
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shamash mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The candle used to light the other eight candles of a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah.
- 2
A sexton in a synagogue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does shamash come from?
From Hebrew שַׁמָּשׁ (shamásh, “waiter, sexton”). Doublet of shammes, via Yiddish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).