matzo

English

Handmade shmura matza

Alternative forms

• matsah, matza, matzah, matzoh

Etymology

Back-formation from matzos, which is borrowed from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of Hebrew מצות (matsót), the plural of מַצָּה (matsá).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmætsə/, /ˈmætsəʊ/, /ˌmɑːˈtsɑː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑːtsə/, /ˈmɑːtsoʊ/, /ˌmɑːˈtsɑː/
• Rhymes: (UK) -ætsə, -ɑː

Noun

matzo (countable and uncountable, plural matzos or matzot or matzoth)

1. (uncountable) Thin, unleavened bread in Jewish cuisine.

   Matzo is eaten by Jews on Passover.

2. (countable) A piece of the above bread.
   • 2014 August 20, “Why Jews are worried [print version: International New York Times, 22 August 2014, p. 8]”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     [W]hen a Hamas spokesman recently stood by his statement that Jews used the blood of non-Jewish children for their matzos – one of the oldest anti-Semitic canards around – European elites were largely silent.

Derived terms

• egg matzo
• matzo ball
• shmurah matzo

Translations

thin, unleavened bread

• Belarusian: маца́ f (macá)
• Bulgarian: маца́ (bg) f (macá)
• Catalan: matsà f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無酵餅 / 无酵饼 (wújiàobǐng)

• Dutch: matze m or f, matse (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: maco
• Finnish: matsa
• French: matza (fr) f
• German: Matze (de) f, Mazze (de) f (technical), Matzen (de) m, Mazzen (de) m (technical)
• Hebrew: מַצָּה (he) f (matsá)
• Japanese: マッツァー (mattsā)
• Ladino:

  Hebrew: מצה f (masa or matsa)

  Latin: masa f, matsa f

• Persian: مصا (masâ)
• Polish: maca (pl) f, przaśnik m
• Portuguese: matzá m or f
• Russian: маца́ (ru) f (macá), мацца́ f (maccá)
• Spanish: matzá f
• Turkish: matsa
• Ukrainian: маца́ f (macá)
• Yiddish: מצה f (matse)

Anagrams

• motza