Etymologically presents
Easter Etymologies
The fast of Lent and the feast that ends it, the first flowers of spring, and a basket of eggs, some of them empty. Come and hunt for the stories inside.
The words of the feast
From the fasting of Lent to the joy of Easter morning.
- Old English Easter from Ēastre The monk Bede wrote in the 8th century that the month of Easter was named after Eostre, a goddess whose festival fell in spring; no other source mentions her. The word is related to east, the direction of the dawn. Read the full etymology →
- early 15th century paschal from Hebrew pesaḥ “Passover” Through Latin and Greek pascha, from the Aramaic and Hebrew name of Passover. Most European languages call Easter by this word: French Pâques, Spanish Pascua, Italian Pasqua. Read the full etymology →
- Old English Lent from lencten “spring” Simply “spring”, the season when the days lengthen; it is related to long. The religious fast took the name of the season in which it fell. Read the full etymology →
- Old English shrive from Latin scribere “to write” To hear a confession and set a penance, perhaps once “prescribed” in writing. Shrove Tuesday, the day of confession before Lent, keeps its past tense. Read the full etymology →
- 1540s carnival from Italian carnevale The feasting before Lent, from carne levare, “the removing of meat”. The popular explanation carne vale, “farewell, meat”, is a folk etymology. Read the full etymology →
- c. 1300 maundy from Latin mandatum “commandment” From the first word of the hymn sung at the washing of feet on the Thursday before Easter: Mandatum novum, “a new commandment I give unto you”. Read the full etymology →
- Old English hosanna from Hebrew hōšīʿāh nnāʾ A cry of “save, we pray”, shouted by the crowds who welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and later a shout of praise. Read the full etymology →
- Old English alleluia from Hebrew hallělūyāh “Praise Yah”, that is, praise God. It reached English through Greek and Latin, and is traditionally silent in church during Lent and sung again at Easter. Read the full etymology →
Spring in bloom
The season and its flowers.
- 1540s (the season) spring from Old English springan Short for the spring of the year, when plants “spring up”. Before that, the season was Lent, or simply lenten. Read the full etymology →
- Old English April from Latin Aprilis Its origin is uncertain. The Romans themselves derived it from aperire, “to open”, as buds do; it may instead come from the Etruscan name of Aphrodite. Read the full etymology →
- 1530s daffodil from Greek asphódelos An altered form of affodill, from Latin asphodelus, a different flower altogether. Nobody knows where the initial d came from. Read the full etymology →
- Old English daisy from dæges ēage “day’s eye” The day’s eye, because the flower opens at dawn and closes at dusk, like an eye. Read the full etymology →
- early 15th century primrose from Medieval Latin prima rosa The “first rose”, one of the earliest flowers of the year, though it is no rose at all. Read the full etymology →
- 1570s tulip from Turkish tülbend “turban” The flower was thought to look like a turban, and turban is the same word by another route. Read the full etymology →
In the Easter basket
Eggs, bunnies and cakes.
- mid-14th century egg from Old Norse egg The Old English word was ey, plural eyren, and the two competed for centuries. The printer William Caxton tells of a merchant who asked a Kentish woman for eggys and was told she spoke no French: she wanted eyren. Read the full etymology →
- 1680s bunny from dialect bun A pet name for a rabbit, from bun, a dialect word for a squirrel or rabbit. Before it was a rabbit, bunny was a term of endearment for a young woman. Read the full etymology →
- Old English hare from hara From a root meaning “grey”, the colour of its coat. Its relatives include German Hase, as in Osterhase, the Easter hare. Read the full etymology →
- c. 1200 simnel from Latin simila “fine flour” First a loaf of fine white bread, then a rich fruit cake eaten in Lent and at Easter. Read the full etymology →
The egg hunt
Some of these words have a real egg inside; some are empty shells. Guess, then crack each one open.
- oval
- egg on
- cockney
- ovation
- eggplant
- omelette
- yolk
- ovary