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Synonyms for wassail
Grammar : Noun, verb |
Spell : wos-uh l, -eyl, was-, wo-seyl |
Phonetic Transcription : ˈwɒs əl, -eɪl, ˈwæs-, wɒˈseɪl |
Top 10 synonyms for wassail Other synonyms for the word wassail
Définition of wassail
Origin :- mid-12c., from Old Norse ves heill "be healthy," a salutation, from ves, imperative of vesa "to be" (see was) + heill "healthy" (see health). Use as a drinking phrase appears to have arisen among Danes in England and spread to native inhabitants. A similar formation appears in Old English wes þu hal, but this is not recorded as a drinking salutation. Sense extended c.1300 to "liquor in which healths were drunk," especially spiced ale used in Christmas Eve celebrations. Meaning "a carousal, reveling" first attested c.1600. Wassailing "custom of going caroling house to house at Christmas time" is recorded from 1742.
- noun celebration
- verb celebrate, toast
- Wassail is equivalent to the phrase, "Your health," of the present day.
- Extract from : « Christmas: Its Origin and Associations » by William Francis Dawson
- Wassail and Drinkhail are both derived from the Anglo-Saxon.
- Extract from : « Christmas: Its Origin and Associations » by William Francis Dawson
- The rafters of the great living-room shook with the roar of wassail and of song.
- Extract from : « Lost Face » by Jack London
- The wassail bowl was a triumph, and the candle of Mr. Pickwick was put out.
- Extract from : « Peter and Jane » by S. (Sarah) Macnaughtan
- It was past midnight when I withdrew from the scene of wassail.
- Extract from : « The Rifle Rangers » by Captain Mayne Reid
- Where is the silver plate—the wassail bowls and our silver-gilt chargers?
- Extract from : « The Young Cavalier » by Percy F. Westerman
- To whom it was answered by Hengist, that Wassail, what it signifieth.
- Extract from : « Holinshed Chronicles, Volume I, Complete » by Raphaell Holinshed
- "Till we meet beside the wassail board, make you merry," she said then.
- Extract from : « The Red Tavern » by Charles Raymond Macauley
- The knight dropped his wassail cup and sprang to the assistance of the ladies.
- Extract from : « Every-Day Errors of Speech » by L. P. Meredith
- Now, as then, the company was defeating tedium with wassail.
- Extract from : « When 'Bear Cat' Went Dry » by Charles Neville Buck
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019