| karaites | (n) a Jewish sect that recognizes only the Hebrew Scriptures as the source of divinely inspired legislation and denies the authority of the postbiblical tradition of the Talmud; the sect arose in Iraq in the eighth century |
| Karaite | n. [ Heb. qārā to read. ] (Eccl. Hist.) A sect of Jews who adhere closely to the letter of the Scriptures, rejecting the oral law, and allowing the Talmud no binding authority; -- opposed to the |