Yuletide
The period around ChristmasThe period around Christmas; the Christmas season, Christmastime; specifically, Christmas itself.
Meaning
3 senses(countable, dated, uncountable)The period around Christmas; the Christmas season, Christmastime; specifically, Christmas itself.
(countable, dated, uncountable)The period of celebration of a pre-Christian festival associated with the (northern) winter solstice, later absorbed into the festival of Christmas (but sometimes recreated by modern neo-pagans).
(Australia, countable, regional, uncountable)The period of southern winter in the middle of the year, sometimes celebrated in the colder, snowy regions of Australia with allusions to Christmas, which originated as a marketing gimmick.
- period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
Translations
2 languagesOrigin
Though attested late (c. 1475), probably dates back to Old English *ġēoltīd (literally “ChThough attested late (c. 1475), probably dates back to Old English *ġēoltīd (literally “Christmas season”). See there for more; equivalent to Yule + -tide.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: YuletidesSynonyms
5 synonyms- period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6:ChristmasChristmastideChristmastimeYuleNoel
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.