Hebrew

אסקופה

Englishthreshold

Definitions

1nounThe strip at the bottom of a doorway that you step over when entering or leaving a room or building.

Please wipe your shoes before you step over the אסקופה.

The cat sat on the אסקופה and watched the rain outside.

He paused at the אסקופה before going into the house.

Idioms & expressions

דרכה על אסקופת הבית, Entered the home for the first time, especially in a festive or meaningful moment.

מן האסקופה ולחוץ, Outside the house or outside the accepted boundary; not included.

על האסקופה, Right at the entrance, at the point of going in or out.

Word Origin

Language

Aramaic

Original word

’askuppā

Originally meant

the doorstep or threshold at an entrance

Background

The word came into Hebrew from Aramaic and is already found in the language of the Sages. In Jewish texts it often refers not just to a physical doorstep, but to the boundary line between inside and outside.

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