Easter
Englisch
editEtymology
editThe noun is derived from Middle English Ester, from Old English ēastre, seemingly from Ēastre, a proposed Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn whose festival is thought to have been celebrated around the vernal equinox. Further from Proto-West Germanic *Austrā, from Proto-Germanic *Austrǭ, derived from either Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“dawn; east”)[1] or, more semantically plausible, from *austrą, *auzrą, a metathesized form of *wazrą (“spring (season)”), *-ǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *wósr̥ (“spring”).
The English word is cognate with German Low German Oostern (“Easter”), Old High German ōstarūn (modern German Ostern) and is possibly a doublet of east. Despite a modern folk etymology, not related to Ishtar.
The verb is derived from the noun.[2]
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈiːstə/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈistɚ/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -iːstə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: Eas‧ter
Nomen
editEaster (countable and uncountable, plural Easters)
- (Christianity)
- A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging in most of Western Christianity (such as Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) from March 22 to April 25, and in Eastern Christianity (such as the Coptic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church) from April 4 to May 8.
- We spent each of the past five Easters together as a family.
- 2022 April 15, Anne Applebaum, Jeffrey Goldberg, quoting Volodymyr Zelensky, “LIBERATION WITHOUT VICTORY”, in The Atlantic[1], archived from the original on 15 April 2022:
- During the Easter season, the Russians are planning “a great battle in Donbas,” the Russian-occupied region in Ukraine’s far east. “This is not Christian behavior at all, as I understand it. On Easter they will kill, and they will be killed.”
- Eastertide (“the period from Easter to Whitsun”).
- (specifically, Roman Catholicism, dated, now chiefly figuratively) Usually preceded by an inflection of make: the act of receiving the Eucharist during Easter.
- A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging in most of Western Christianity (such as Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) from March 22 to April 25, and in Eastern Christianity (such as the Coptic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church) from April 4 to May 8.
- (UK, Ireland, law, education) Ellipsis of Easter term.
- (paganism) A festival held in honour of the goddess Eostre or Ostara, celebrated at the vernal equinox or within the month of April; Eostre, Ostara.
- (obsolete) The Jewish Passover.
- 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Gospell off S. Marke xiiij:[1], folio lxv, verso:
- After two dayes folowed eſter⸝ and the dayes of ſwete breed. And the hye preſtꝭ [prestis] and ſcrybꝭ [scrybis] ſought meanes⸝ howe they myght take hym [Jesus] by crafte and putt hym to deeth.
Derived terms
edit- Christmas and Easter Christian
- Easter basket
- Easter bilby
- Easter Bunny, Easter Rabbit
- Easter cactus
- Easter Day
- Easter egg
- Easter Egger
- Easter egg hunt
- Easter egg roll
- Easterfest
- Easter flower
- Easter giant
- Easter grass
- Easter Island
- Easter Islander
- Easter lily
- Easter Monday
- Eastermonth
- Easter Moon
- Easter Sunday
- Eastertide
- Eastertime
- Eastery
- Octave Day of Easter
- Octave of Easter
- Russian Easter bread
- Second Sunday of Easter
- Ukrainian Easter egg
- white Easter
Descendants
edit- → Chickasaw: Iista'
Translations
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See also
editProper noun
editEaster
- A surname.
Verb
editEaster (third-person singular simple present Easters, present participle Eastering, simple past and past participle Eastered)
- (intransitive) To celebrate Easter.
- (intransitive) To spend the Easter season in some place.
Translations
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References
edit- ^ Compare "Easter, n.1”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “Easter, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- ^ "Easter, v.2”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, September 2018.
Further reading
edit- Easter on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Easter (surname) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “Easter”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “Easter”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
Anagrams
edit- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English doublets
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/iːstə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/iːstə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Christianity
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Roman Catholicism
- English dated terms
- British English
- Irish English
- en:Law
- en:Education
- English ellipses
- en:Paganism
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English proper nouns
- English surnames
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- en:Calendar
- en:Holidays
- en:Judaism