ju·bi·lee / ˈjoōbəˌlē; ˌjoōbəˈlē/ • n. a special anniversary of an event, esp. one celebrating twenty-five or fifty years of a reign or activity: [as adj.] jubilee celebrations. ∎  Judaism (in Jewish history) a year of emancipation and restoration, celebrated every fifty years. ∎  (in full Jubilee Year) a period of remission from the penal consequences of sin, granted by the Roman Catholic Church under certain conditions for a year, usually at intervals of twenty-five years.• adj. (of desserts) flambé: cherries jubilee.

jubilee a special anniversary of an event, especially one celebrating twenty-five or fifty years of a reign or activity.

In Jewish history, a jubilee is a year of emancipation and restoration, kept every fifty years; in the Roman Catholic Church, it is a period of remission from the penal consequences of sin, granted by the Roman Catholic Church under certain conditions for a year, usually at intervals of twenty-five years.

Recorded from late Middle English, the word comes via Old French from late Latin jubilaeus (annus) ‘(year) of jubilee’, based on Hebrew yōḇēl, originally ‘ram's-horn trumpet’, with which the jubilee year was proclaimed.

jubilee year of emancipation and restoration of the Jews, kept every 50 years (see Lev. 25); fiftieth anniversary. XIV. —(O)F. jubilé—ChrL. jūbilæus adj.—(with assim. to jūbilāre; see prec.) ChrGr. iōbēlaîlos, f. ióbēlos— Heb. yōbhēl jubilee, orig. ram, (hence) ram's horn, with which the jubilee year was proclaimed.

Jubilee (Heb., yovel). Biblical law requiring the release of slaves and the restoration of family property every fifty years. The agricultural laws of the sabbatical year (i.e. the seventh year of seven) applied in the Jubilee year.