Yule

Yule

See also: yule and yúlè

English

Etymology

From the Middle English yol, yole, from Old English ġeōl, ġeola (“Christmastide, midwinter”), either cognate with[1][2][3] or from[4][5] Old Norse jól, from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą.

See also Old English giuli and Old Norse ýlir.

In pre-Christian times, the term designated the two-month midwinter season (December and January). After Christianization, it became a narrower reference to the twelve days of Christmas.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /juːl/
• Homophone: you'll
• Rhymes: -uːl

Proper noun

Yule (plural Yules)

1. Christmastide, the Christmas season, the Twelve Days of Christmas (between December 25^th and January 5^th).
2. A pagan wintertime holiday celebrated by Germanic peoples, particularly the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples, or a modern reconstruction of this holiday celebrated by neo-pagans.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• Yulefest
• Yule log
• Yuletide

• Yule tree
• Yule wreath

Translations

the Christmas season

Afrikaans: Joelfees Danish: jul (da) c Dutch: Joelfeest Esperanto: Julo Estonian: jõulud (et) pl Finnish: joulu (fi) Galician: Nadal (gl) m Georgian: შობის დღეები (šobis dɣeebi) German: Julfest (de) n Gothic: 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 m (jiuleis)

Icelandic: jól (is) n pl Norwegian: Bokmål: jul (no) m or f Nynorsk: jul f, jol f Romanian: Crăciun (ro) n Spanish: Navidad (es) f Swedish: jul (sv) c Turkish: yul bayramı, bocuk (tr)

See also

• jolly
• blót
• Sabbat
• Christmas
• (Wiccan Sabbats) Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Midsummer, Lughnasadh, Mabon ^{(Category: en:Wicca)}

References

1. Merriam-Webster: Origin of Yule
2. Oxford Dictionaries: Origin of Yule
3. Reference.com: Origin of Yule
4. According to ODS eng. yule laant fra nordisk, the English Yule was borrowed from Old Norse
5. Etymology of Yule Yule in Online Etymology Dictionary

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Scots

Noun

Yule

1. Christmas