Easter - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Easter :  (noun)
1: a Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Christ; celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox [syn: Easter]
2: a wind from the east [syn: east wind, easterly]

Based on WordNet 2.0

Easter : \Eas"ter\, n. [AS. e['a]ster, e['a]stran, paschal feast, Easter; akin to G. ostern; fr. AS. E['a]stre, a goddess of light or spring, in honor of whom a festival was celebrated in April; whence this month was called in AS. E['a]sterm[=o]na[eth]. Based on the root of E. east. See East.] 1. An annual church festival commemorating Christ's resurrection, and occurring on Sunday, the second day after Good Friday. It corresponds to the pasha or passover of the Jews, and most nations still give it this name under the various forms of pascha, pasque, p[^a]que, or pask.

2. The day on which the festival is observed; Easter day.

Note: Easter is used either adjectively or as the first element of a compound; as, Easter day or Easter-day, Easter Sunday, Easter week, Easter gifts.

Sundays by thee more glorious break, An Easter day in every week. --Keble.

Note: Easter day, on which the rest of the movable feasts depend, is always the first Sunday after the fourteenth day of the calendar moon which (fourteenth day) falls on, or next after, the 21st of March, according to the rules laid down for the construction of the calendar; so that if the fourteenth day happen on a Sunday, Easter day is the Sunday after. --Eng. Cyc.

Easter dues (Ch. of Eng.), money due to the clergy at Easter, formerly paid in communication of the tithe for personal labor and subject to exaction. For Easter dues, Easter offerings, voluntary gifts, have been substituted. Easter egg. (a) A painted or colored egg used as a present at Easter. (b) An imitation of an egg, in sugar or some fine material, sometimes made to serve as a box for jewelry or the like, used as an Easter present.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Easter : \East"er\, v. i. (Naut.) To veer to the east; -- said of the wind. --Russell.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Easter :  originally a Saxon word (Eostre), denoting a goddess of the Saxons, in honour of whom sacrifices were offered about the time of the Passover. Hence the name came to be given to the festival of the Resurrection of Christ, which occured at the time of the Passover. In the early English versions this word was frequently used as the translation of the Greek pascha (the Passover). When the Authorized Version (1611) was formed, the word "passover" was used in all passages in which this word pascha occurred, except in Act 12:4. In the Revised Version the proper word, "passover," is always used.



Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Example Usage of Easter

WCMRNowPlaying: "It Feels Like Christmas Again by Jeff and Sheri Easter ... It Feels Like Christmas Again"
randompassword: Uequ[iM3 #password - Myths: Bigfoot, the Easter Bunny and Bill Clinton's sincerity.
nicky63: @UKsamsungmobile Will there be an Easter Egg hunt to look forward to next year?? :D happy christmas & thanks for great comp x
Copyright 2009 wordIQ.com - Privacy Policy  :: Terms of Use  :: Contact Us  :: About Us