minyan*: Meaning and Definition of

min•yan

Pronunciation: (Seph.mēn-yän' Ashk., Eng. min'y&schwan), [key]
— pl. min•yan•im min•yans.
  1. the number of persons required by Jewish law to be present to conduct a communal religious service, traditionally a minimum of 10 Jewish males over 13 years of age.
  2. such a group.

Min•yan

Pronunciation: (min'yun), [key]
— Class. Myth. Class. Myth.
—adj.
  1. descended from Minyas.
  2. being or pertaining to a gray, wheel-thrown pottery produced in ancient Greece during the early part of the Helladic period, c2000b.c.
—n.
  1. the descendants of Minyas who inhabited Orchomenus in Boeotia and Iolcus in Thessaly.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.