[ 'pʊərɪm , pʊ'ri:m ]
■ noun a lesser Jewish festival held in spring to commemorate the defeat of Haman's plot to massacre the Jews as recorded in the book of Esther.
Origin
Heb., plural of pūr , explained in the book of Esther (3:7, 9:24) as meaning 'lot', with allusion to the casting of lots by Haman.