Etymologically
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holiday

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈhɒl.ə.deɪ/, US /ˈhɑː.lə.deɪ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English haliday,[2][3] inherited from Old English hāliġdæġ (“holy day, Christian festival, Sabbath”),[2][3][4] a compound of hāliġ (“holy”) and dæġ (“day”).[2][3][5] Old English also had the phrase hālig dæg, written separately, which became Middle English holy day;[3][4] it developed into holiday in the late 14th century and replaced haliday.[3] It is related to holy, day and holy day.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A consecrated day, a religious festival: about 950 in the Lindisfarne Gospels, according to Barnhart and the OED;[3][6] as a surname, Halidai, from the late 12th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century it meant both a religious festival and a day free from work for recreation,[2][6] and the pronunciation and sense diverged in the 16th century, leaving holiday and holy day.[2][3] The meaning was extended to “an occasion of joy and gaiety”.[2] As an adjective, “used on a holiday”, it is from the mid-15th century.[2][6] In British English the holidays are a period away from school or work, a vacation;[7][8] happy holidays is from the mid-19th century, of summer vacation from school, and a Christmas greeting by 1937, in American cigarette advertisements.[2] The verb, “to spend a holiday”, is from 1869.[2][9]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – a religious festival.[3][6]
  • before 1300 – a day off work.[6]
  • mid-15th century – adjective.[2]
  • 16th century – holiday and holy day diverge.[2][3]
  • 1869 – verb.[2]
  • 1937 – happy holidays at Christmas.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A day on which custom or law halts general business to celebrate or commemorate an event.
  2. A religious feast day; a holy day.
  3. A day free from work; a day off.
  4. (chiefly British) A vacation.

Verb

  1. (chiefly British) To spend a holiday.

Word family

  • holidayer
  • preholiday
  • half-holiday
  • holidaymaker
  • bank holiday
  • busman's holiday
  • legal holiday
  • national holiday

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster