yuletide
UK /ˈjuːlˌtaɪd/ · US /ˈjulˌtaɪd/ noun
Forms yuletides
- noun The flower Camellia sasanqua, native to Japan and nearby islands.
- noun (dated) The period around Christmas; the Christmas season, Christmastime; specifically, Christmas itself.
- noun (dated, or Germanic Neo-Paganism) 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).
- noun (Australia, regional) 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.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Yule (“Germanic Winter Festival”) + -tide (“period around a festival, season”); compare Swedish juletid.
Though attested late (c. 1475), probably dates back to Old English *ġēoltīd (literally “Christmas season”). See there for more; equivalent to Yule + -tide.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Christmas time; Christmastide; the season of Christmas.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “yuletide”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details