אַפִּיקוֹרוֹס, (פקרס, enlarg. of פקר, cmp. פרכס &c.; cmp. אפקרסין) one irreverent of authority or religion, sceptic, heretic. [The peculiar form and also the meaning assigned to our w. found a ready support in its phonetic coincidence with Epicurus, the philosopher; cmp. N. T. Acta XVII, 18. The derivatives of our w. and those of the plain root פקר interchange frequently.] Snh. X (XI), 1, the following have no share in the world to come … וא׳ and the Ep.; Y. ib. XI, 27ᵈ bot. כהן דאמר אהן ספרא וכ׳ as the one who (speaking of the Law) says (sneeringly) ‘That book’, or ‘Those Rabbis’. Bab. ib. 99ᵇ (similar definition). Ab. II, 14 ודע מה שתשיב לא׳ that you may know what to reply to the sceptic; cmp. Snh. 38ᵇ; a. fr.—Pl. אַפִּיקוֹרְסִין, סִים …, אַפִּיקוֹרוֹ׳. R. Hash. 17ᵃ Yalk. Num. 764. Ḥag. 5ᵇ מאי תיהוי עלן מא׳ how shall we henceforth cope with the heretics?, i.e. opponents of tradition (Jew-Christians; cmp. מִין a. Snh. 38ᵇ).—Cmp. אַפְקָרוּתָא.—Denom. אַפִּיקוֹרוֹסִית, v. אַפִּיקוֹרְסוּת.