a member of an ancient Jewish sect that was opposed to the Pharisees, denying the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels, and the validity of oral tradition
Derived forms
Sadducean (ˌSadduˈcean)
adjective
Sadduceeism (ˈSadduˌceeism)
noun
Word origin
Old English saddūcēas, via Latin and Greek from Late Hebrew sāddūqi, probably from Sadoq Zadok, high priest and supposed founder of the sect
Sadducee in American English
(ˈsædʒʊˌsi; ˈsædjʊˌsi)
noun
a member of an ancient Jewish party, representing the ruling hierarchy, that accepted only the written law and rejected the oral, or traditional, law
see also Pharisee
Derived forms
Sadducean (ˌSadduˈcean)
adjective
Word origin
ME Saducei < OE Sadduce < LL(Ec) Sadducaeus < Gr(Ec) Saddoukaios < Heb tsadoki, prob. < tsadok, Zadok: see Ezek. 40:46