Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Haphtarah \Haph*ta"rah\, n.; pl. {-taroth}. [Heb.
   hapht[=a]r[=a]h, prop., valedictory, fr. p[=a]tar to depart.]
   One of the lessons from the Nebiim (or Prophets) read in the
   Jewish synagogue on Sabbaths, feast days, fasts, and the
   ninth of Ab, at the end of the service, after the parashoth,
   or lessons from the Law. Such a practice is evidenced in Luke
   iv.17 and Acts xiii.15.