n.
Pronunciation: ' ma-k ə -( ˌ )b ē z
Function: noun plural
Etymology: Greek Makkabaioi, from plural of Makkabaios, surname of Judas Maccabaeus 2d century B.C. Jewish patriot
Date: 1587
1 : a priestly family leading a Jewish revolt begun in 168 B.C. against Hellenism and Syrian rule and reigning over Palestine from 142 B.C. to 63 B.C.
2 singular in construction : either of two narrative and historical books included in the Roman Catholic canon of the Old Testament and in the Protestant Apocrypha ― see BIBLE table
– Mac · ca · be · an \ ˌ ma-k ə - ' b ē - ə n \ adjective