wassail
nounEtymology
From Middle English wassail, from Old Norse ves heill (“be healthy!”), from the imperative of vesa (“to be”) + heill (“healthy”). The earliest documented use of the term is from the first part of the 12th century CE, in Geoffroy of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (see page's citations).
Definitions
A toast to health, usually on a festive occasion.
The beverage served during a wassail, especially one made of ale or wine flavoured with…
The beverage served during a wassail, especially one made of ale or wine flavoured with spices, sugar, roasted apples, etc.
- Add ſugar, nutmeg and ginger, / VVith ſtore of ale too; / And thus ye muſt doe / To make the vvaſſaile a ſvvinger.
Revelry.
- In merry wassail he […] peals his loud song.
- The victors abandoned themselves to feasting and wassail.
- A blinding light against a garish blue sky made vision difficult, thanks to the previous night's wassail.
›+ 4 more definitionsshow fewer
A festive or drinking song or glee.
- Have you done your wassail? 'Tis a handsome, drowsy ditty, I'll assure you.
To toast, to drink to the health of another.
- The next morning he much regretted the gusto with which he had wassailed the night before.
To drink wassail.
To go from house to house at Christmastime, singing carols.
- During the Christmas season, carolers traveled from house to house, bringing good wishes and carrying an empty bowl. The master of the house being wassailed was expected to fill the bowl with hot, spicy ale.
- "I wish someone would come to my house and wassail!" Jessica P. of Howland said.
The neighborhood
- neighborhail
- neighborWassail in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Derived
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for wassail. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA