Eng., Ashk. Heb. /mis nah"gid/ ; Seph. Heb. /meet nah ged"/ , n. , pl. Mitnaggedim Eng., Ashk. Heb. /mis nahg"dim/ ; Seph. Heb. /meet nahg deem"/ . Judaism.
a member of an Orthodox Jewish movement in central or eastern Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries that advocated an intellectual, legalistic approach to Judaism and opposed the emotional, mystical approach of the Hasidim. Cf. Hasid (def. 1).
[ 1900-05; mithnaggedh, Yiddish misnaged mithnaggedh opposing, opponent ]