selichan.
/sɪˈliːxə//sɪliːˈxɑː/ A Hebrew liturgical poem recited in penance on fast days, before Rosh Hashanah, and before and on Yom Kippur.
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1864 Chambers's Encycl. VI. 155/1 The Selichoth, or Penitential Prayers.
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1194/2 The selihot are acrostically arranged, many containing not only the alphabet but also the names of the composer and his father.
1925 W. O. E. Oesterley Jewish Background Christian Liturgy ii. 76 What are called the Selichôth (i.e. prayers for forgiveness; the word comes from the root salach ‘to forgive’) form an important element in the Jewish liturgy.
1960 S. Becker tr. A. Schwarz-Bart Last of Just (1961) i. 9 He is the author of the famous Seliha, Oh God, cover not our blood with thy silence.
1974 Jewish Chron. 13 Sept. 34/3 I was at selichot the other morning (none of your midnight revels for me) with my soul on high.
1976 B. Williams Making Manch. Jewry xii. 304 In October 1870 the congregation agreed on minor ritual changes—including the abbreviation of the Piyyutim and Selicoth.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
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