Sabbatical year
From the Hebrew shmita — a release, a letting-drop: every seventh year the land is left to rest and debts and bondservants are released (Leviticus 25:1-7; Deuteronomy 15). It is the sabbath kept on the scale of years rather than days — the same seven-pattern as the week, one rung below the Jubilee that crowns seven of these cycles. Synonyms: shmita, shemittah, sabbath year, year of release, land sabbath. See also: Week, Sabbath, Jubilee.