English Online Dictionary. What means holiday? What does holiday mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English halyday, holyday, halidei, haliȝdei, from Old English hāliġdæġ (“holy day, Sabbath”), equivalent to holy + day. Compare West Frisian hjeldei (“holiday”), Danish helligdag (“holiday”), Norwegian helligdag (“holiday”), Swedish helgdag (“holiday, feast”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɒlɪdeɪ/, /-di/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈhɑləˌdeɪ/
- Hyphenation: hol‧i‧day
Noun
holiday (plural holidays)
- A day on which a festival, religious event, or national celebration is traditionally observed.
- Synonyms: feast day, holy day
- A day declared free from work by the state or government.
- Synonyms: (UK) bank holiday, national holiday
- (chiefly UK, Australia) A period of one or more days taken off work for leisure and often travel; often plural.
- Synonyms: leave, time off, (US) vacation; see also Thesaurus:vacation
- (chiefly UK, Australia) A period during which pupils do not attend their school; often plural; rarely used for students at university (usually: vacation).
- Synonym: (US) vacation
- (finance) A period during which, by agreement, the usual payments are not made.
- A gap in coverage, e.g. of paint on a surface, or sonar imagery.
- Synonym: lacuna
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
holiday (third-person singular simple present holidays, present participle holidaying, simple past and past participle holidayed) (chiefly British)
- (intransitive) To take a period of time away from work or study.
- (British, intransitive) To spend a period of time in recreational travel.
Translations
References
Anagrams
- hyaloid, hyoidal
Middle English
Noun
holiday
- Alternative form of halyday