noun
or mas·so·rete ˈmasəˌrēt ; also mas·o·rite -ˌrīt
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: alteration (influenced by -ete — as in athlete — and by -ite ) of earlier massoreth, from Middle French, from Hebrew māsoreth bond (dubious reading in Ezek 20: 37) (whence New Hebrew massōrāh, mĕsōrāh Masorah)
: a scholar learned in the body of textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible called the Masorah ; especially : one of the scribes who wrote down the Masorah