Eastern.¹

Brit.

/ˈiːstə/, U.S.

/ˈistər/

Forms:

α. Old English Aestor (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Aestur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Aeuster (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Earster (in compounds, transmission error), Old English Eastor (in compounds), Old English Eastra (Mercian, plural), Old English Eastro (chiefly Northumbrian, singular and plural), Old English Eastru (plural), Old English Eastur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Eostor (Northumbrian, in derivatives), Old English Eostro (Northumbrian, singular and plural), Old English Eostru (Northumbrian, singular and plural), Old English Eostur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Estur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Euster (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Eustur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English (in compounds) Middle English– Easter, Old English–early Middle English Æster, Old English–Middle English Eastre (singular, occasionally plural), Old English–1600s Ester, late Old English Æstær, late Old English Giester (in compounds), early Middle English Æstere, early Middle English Æstre, early Middle English Iester, Middle English Aster, Middle English Astere, Middle English Astur, Middle English Astyr, Middle English Eester, Middle English Eestir, Middle English Estir, Middle English Estre, Middle English Eystere, Middle English Hester, Middle English Hestur, Middle English Hyster, Middle English Yestre (Kent), Middle English Ystyre, Middle English–1500s Estur, Middle English–1500s Estyr, 1500s Astr, 1600s Eister (Scottish), 1800s– Aister (English regional (Lancashire)), 1800s– Aisther (English regional (Lancashire)), 1800s– Haster (English regional (Wiltshire)).

β. Old English Easterne (in a late copy), Old English Eastran (inflected form), Old English Eastrean (inflected form, rare), Old English Eastrian (in a late copy), Old English Eastron (inflected form), Old English Eastrun (inflected form), late Old English Æsterne (inflected form), late Old English Easran (inflected form), late Old English Eastern (inflected form), late Old English Estran (inflected form), late Old English Ęstron (inflected form), late Old English–early Middle English Eastren (inflected form), late Old English–early Middle English Estron (inflected form), late Old English–Middle English Estren, early Middle English Æstron (inflected form), Middle English Asterne, Middle English Eesterne, Middle English Eestren, Middle English Estarne, Middle English Esteren, Middle English Estrene, Middle English Estryn, Middle English Hestern, Middle English–1500s Estern, Middle English–1500s Esterne.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Dutch ōster- (in ōstermānōth April, lit. ‘Easter-month’), Old Saxon ōstar- (in ōstarfrisking paschal lamb; Middle Low German ōsteren , ōstern , plural), Old High German ōstara (usually in plural ōstarūn ; Middle High German ōster (usually in plural ōstern ), German Ostern , singular and (now chiefly regional) plural), probably < the same Germanic base as east adv. (and hence ultimately cognate with Sanskrit uṣas , Avestan ušah- , ancient Greek (Ionic and Epic) ἠώς , (Attic) ἕως , classical Latin aurōra , all in sense ‘dawn’). For alternative (and less likely) etymologies see the references cited below. It is noteworthy that among the Germanic languages the word (as the name for Easter) is restricted to English and German; in other Germanic languages, as indeed in most European languages, the usual word for Easter is derived from the corresponding word for the Jewish Passover; compare pasch n.Bede ( De Temporum Ratione 15. 9: see quot. below) derives the word < Eostre (a Northumbrian spelling; also Eastre in a variant reading), according to him, the name of a goddess whose festival was celebrated by the pagan Anglo-Saxons around the time of the vernal equinox (presumably in origin a goddess of the dawn, as the name is to be derived from the same Germanic base as east adv.: see above). This explanation is not confirmed by any other source, and the goddess has been suspected by some scholars to be an invention of Bede's. However, it seems unlikely that Bede would have invented a fictitious pagan festival in order to account for a Christian one. For further discussion and alternative derivations see D. H. Green Lang. & Hist. Early Germanic World (1998) 351–3, J. Udolph & K. Schäferdieck in J. Hoops's Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde (ed. 2, 2003) XXII. 331–8, and for a parallel development compare yule n. Bede's etymology comes in a passage explaining the origin of the Old English names of the months:a735 Bede De Temporum Ratione xv Eostur-monath, qui nunc paschalis mensis interpretatur, quondam a dea illorum quae Eostre vocabatur, et cui in illo festa celebrabant, nomen habuit, a cujus nomine nunc paschale tempus cognominant, consueto antiquae observationis vocabulo gaudia novae solemnitatis vocantes. Compare Old English Ēastermōnað April, cognate with or formed similarly to Old Dutch ōstermānōth (in a translation from German), Old High German ōstarmānōd (Middle High German ōstermānōt , German Ostermonat , now archaic) < the Germanic base of Easter n.¹ + the Germanic base of month n.¹ A borrowing of the Old English word into West Slavonic (during the time of the Anglo-Saxon mission to Germany) perhaps underlies Polabian jostråi , Lower Sorbian jatšy , (regional) jastry , Kashubian jastrë , all in sense ‘Easter’; however, it has been argued that these are rather to be derived from a native base meaning ‘clear, bright’, and thus (via a connection with the coming of spring) show a parallel development to the Germanic word. The form of the word in Old English shows much (especially dialectal) variation: in West Saxon usually a weak feminine plural (Ēastran ; frequently in form Ēastron (also Ēastrun ), probably reflecting a variant form of the Germanic thematic element: see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §619.1), also occasionally found in the singular (Ēastre ); an apparently strong feminine plural by-form (Ēastra ), apparently Mercian, is rarely attested; in Northumbrian usually a strong neuter plural (Ēostru , Ēostro ), also occasionally found in the singular (sometimes apparently invariably as Ēostro , sometimes in inflected forms, e.g. genitive Ēostres ). The combining form Ēaster is widely attested. The β. forms represent Old English Ēastran (the form of both the weak feminine plural and the inflected form of the weak feminine singular) and its later reflexes. The forms of some compounds in Middle English and early modern English may reflect compounds of the Old English weak feminine genitive singular or plural (respectively Ēastran and Ēastrena).

a. The most important and oldest of the festivals of the Christian Church, commemorating the resurrection of Christ and observed annually on the Sunday which follows the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Also (more generally): Easter week or the weekend from Good Friday to Easter Monday, Eastertide. In Old English frequently in plural.Easter is observed on the first Sunday after the paschal full moon (not the astronomical full moon) which occurs on or after 21 March. The actual date varies according to the calendar used in its calculation.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] > Sunday in

EastereOE

Easter DayOE

Easter SundayOE

pasch dayc1175

resurrectionc1300

Great Dayc1350

pace daya1425

God's Sundaya1500

eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 365 Phase, eastran.

OE Ælfric De Temporibus Anni (Cambr. Gg.3.28) (2009) iv. 84 On sumon geare bið se mona twelf siðon geniwod, fram ðære halgan eastertide oð eft eastron.

OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) v. xix. 470 Ic þonne nu [eow] openlice andette.., þæt ic ðas tide Eastrena ecelice healdan wille mid ealre minre ðeode.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1101 To Cristesmæssan heold se cyng Heanrig his hired on Westmynstre & to Eastran on Winceastre.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 101 (MED) Þe þre dage biforen estre [ben] cleped swidages.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9230 He ferde to Lunden. He wes þere an Æstre.

c1300 St. Brendan (Harl.) l. 151 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 224 Þer ȝe schulle þis ester beo, & þis wit-sonedai also.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3289 Ðor-of in esterne be we wunen Seuene siðes to funt cumen.

1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 35 Þe soneday fourtnythe after esterne.

Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 143/2 Eesterne, Pascha.

a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 3140 Þis miracle was þus..y-do, In þe astere nexste after hurre body-dyenge.

1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxiii. 254 The clergye..wold not graunte vnto Estre next comyng.

1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 278 From passyon sonday tyl Esterne.

1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie iv. xi. 194 Keeping the feast of Easter on the same day the Iewes kept theirs.

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 55 The Spring-time, wherein the Feast of Easter..was celebrated.

1680 J. Dryden Kind Keeper iv. i. 39 He made me keep Lent last year till Whitsontide, and out-fac'd me with Oaths, it was but Easter.

a1712 G. Martine Reliquiæ Divi Andreae (1797) 188 The senȝie mercat..beginning the second week after Easter.

1782 J. Priestley Hist. Corruptions Christianity II. viii. 129 The first..festival..that was observed..was Easter.

1838 W. Howitt Rural Life Eng. II. iii. iv. 166 Easter was the great festival of the church.

1863 G. Meredith Let. 15 Apr. (1970) I. 199 By the way, my darling little man came home at Easter.

1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin viii. 142 Most of the younger men were past caring whether it was Christmas or Easter.

1954 Los Angeles Times 12 Apr. ii. 10/4 A bowlful of pysanky, blessed at Easter, guards a Ukrainian home against lightning and fire.

1993 Independent 22 Feb. 10/4 I used to visit her at Easter and the summer hols, and cried buckets when I left her.

2006 St James' Parish Mag. (Blackburn) Apr. 9 The sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross, enfolded in the glory of Easter.

b. The action or an act of receiving the Holy Eucharist during the season of Easter, as required of members of the Roman Catholic Church. Originally and chiefly in to make (also †do) one's Easter (see make v.¹ 43g): to receive the Holy Eucharist at Easter, to fulfil one's Easter duty (Easter duty n. 2). Now chiefly figurative.

ΚΠ

1700 T. Marwood Diary 8 Apr. in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1909) 7 62 I was at S^t Gomars & Saw ye Quire do their Easter.

1885 E. H. Dering Lady of Raven's Combe I. ii. 20 Mick..is..very happy about everything, when he has made his Easter.

1892 Month May 37 Taking in those who have made their Easters at Melior St...we may count the Easters as 2000.

1903 B. A. H. Wiberforce Let. 7 May in Life & Lett. xvi. 344 No sick just now. All but four made their Easter.

1935 H. N. Brailsford Voltaire 237 He performed the minimum act of conformity demanded by the Church; that is to say, in the usual French phrase, he ‘made his Easter’.

1972 P. Freire in Catholic Mind Sept. 7/2 For the First World to hear that Word, it must previously undergo an Easter.

1998 M. McGuckian in L. E. Beattie & M. A. Shaughnessy Sisters in Pain 99 I make my Easter walking between the graves, Head high in the air.

2. = Passover n. 1. Now only in Jewish Easter or with other contextual indication.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > Jewish seasons and feasts > Passover > [noun]

EasterOE

phaseOE

paschOE

forthforea1325

fasea1425

Passover1530

passing-by1533

paschala1535

azyme1582

feast1611

Pesach1613

OE Blickling Homilies 67 Hælend cwom syx dagum ær Iudea eastrum, to Bethania.

OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 1 Soþlice þa æfter twam dagum wæron eastron.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. xxxi. 546 Ester hatte pascha in grewe..and is iclepid in ebrewe phase, þat is ‘passinge oþir passage’.

c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 131 (MED) Wiþ grete desire I haue desired þis Eestren, þat is þis Paske.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xlv. 21 Vpon y^e xiiij. daye of the first moneth ye shal kepe Easter.

1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Whitsunday i, in J. Griffiths Two Bks. Homilies (1859) ii. 453 Easter, a great, and solemne feast among the Jewes.

1611 Bible (King James) Acts xii. 4 Intending after Easter to bring him foorth.

1662 P. Gunning Paschal or Lent-Fast 37 S. Iohn and S. Philip finding it usefull..to observe the Christian Easter on the same day with the Jewish Easter.

1792 J. Douglas Disc. Infl. Christian Relig. xii. 213 The catastrophe took place at the celebration of Easter, when the Jews had flocked to the city from the distant regions of the empire.

1812 Port Folio Sept. 297 An extract from two Hebrew works on the Jewish easter.

1883 J. L. Meagher Festal Year viii. 281 The Jews held their Easter on the fourteenth moon of the month of March.

1934 Times 24 Dec. 9/6 During the 14 years from A.D. 20 to 33 the only year in which the Jewish Easter (15 Nisan) fell on a Friday was the year 27.

1973 Adolescent Psychiatry 3 60 Hence, the English name Passover for the Jewish Easter.

2004 J. Lloyd tr. J. Pérez Spanish Inquisition 19 They..ceased all activities on the day of the sabbath, recited Jewish prayers, celebrated Jewish Easter and other festivals.

Compounds

attributive.

C1. General attributive, as Easter festival, Easter holidays, †Easter morrow, Easter night, †Easter pence, etc.

ΚΠ

OE Descent into Hell 15 Sohton sarigu tu sigebearn Godes ænne in þæt eorðærn þær hi ær wiston þæt hine gehyddan hæleð Iudea; wendan þæt he on þam beorge bidan sceolde, ana in þære easterniht.

OE St. Mary of Egypt (Julius) (2002) 106 He..to þam mynstre ferde on þære ylcan tide þe heora Eastergewuna wæron togædere becuman.

c1300 St. Brendan (Harl.) l. 215 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 225 (MED) Eche ȝer ȝe schulle her mid ous holde ester-feste.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 9098 (MED) Nobliche is ester feste he huld..In is vaire halle at oxenford.

a1475 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 277 (MED) He ros on estryn morwe.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xx. 6 After the ester holidayes.

1635 R. Boyle Diary in Lismore Papers (1886) 1st Ser. IV. 138 50^li was lent to my son..which I am to abate owt of his next Easter exhibicon.

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. i. v. 30 The solemnity of Easter Festivall duly celebrated.

1676 A. Marvell Mr. Smirke sig. B2^v [Some] would..have ventur'd their Coffee-Farthings, yea their Easter-pence by advance.

1722 London Gaz. No. 6052/1 The Easter-Holidays having passed.

1826 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 21 Oct. 195 The house-lambs and the early Easter-lambs.

1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 13 The Easter recess will be here in a day or two.

1925 Amer. Mercury July 315/1 [His] discovery of this wonderful anise bag occurred right after the Easter Vacation.

1977 B. MacLaverty Secrets 48 It was Thursday and the Easter rush had started.

2008 Time Out N.Y. 13 Mar. 121/3 The logical French delight their youngsters with chocolate eggs from the much more believable Easter Hen.

C2. Designating the days of Easter week following Easter Day, as Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. Cf. Easter Saturday is now frequently used to denote Holy Saturday, the Saturday before Easter Day.

ΚΠ

a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 133 (MED) On Eestir monedai.

a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 68 (MED) Forto do penance and labour jn longyng, tyll he come to Astyr Setyrday.

1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 66 Ther we a bode..Ester evyn, Ester Day, And also Ester munday..Ester Tewysday..we Departyd.

1602 S. Patrick tr. J. de Hainault Estate of Church 196 This Theodorus instituted the blessing of the Sierge on Easter Saterday.

?c1663 B. Whitelocke Diary (1990) 345 Easter Monday there was great solemnity & excellent musicke in the Q[ueens] chappell.

1708 W. Nicolson London Diaries 25 Mar. (1985) 465 She miscarryed on Easter-Monday before the pretended birth of her Son on Trinity-Sunday following.

1755 T. Forbes in C. Gist Jrnls. (1893) 148 Easter Tuesday we embarked.

1805 ‘D. Hughson’ London II. 396 The lord mayor and corporation always attended, robed in violet gowns, on Good Friday and Easter Wednesday.

1943 Billboard 1 May 21/4 In Atlantic City, Steel Pier's Marine Ballroom has lined up three bands for the Easter Saturday and Sunday.

1973 J. R. Powers Last Catholic in Amer. vii. 105 My sister started spreading newspapers over the kitchen table in preparation for the Easter Saturday night ritual of egg coloring.

2007 A. Enright Gathering xvi. 105 It is Easter Monday and every car in Dublin is making for Fairyhouse in a convoy.

C3.

Easter basket n. originally North American a basket, typically filled with sweets or coloured eggs, used as a decoration or given as a gift at Easter.

ΚΠ

1881 North Amer. (Philadelphia) 2 Apr. Their assortment of Easter baskets and bags for young misses is rare and splendid.

1931 M. Elderton Case Stud. Unemploym. 70 Now we can give the children an Easter basket.

2007 Gold Coast Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 14 Mar. 92 Its Easter basket is a chocolate lover's dream overflowing with everything from individual Easter mud cakes to deliciously decadent rum balls.

Easter book n. now historical an account book for recording Easter dues.

ΚΠ

1534 King Henry VIII in J. Bacon Liber Regis (1786) p. vi [They shall] also se and veu such regesters, boks of accoumpt, Ester boks, and all other writings.

1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xxv. 229 Necessity will..make him study his Easter-book more then all other Writers.

1775 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 65 329 In Richmond there are about 600 houses; but the Easter book enumerates only 450 families.

1828 J. Jervis & E. Younge Rep. Cases Court of Exchequer I. 28 The defendant..set forth a schedule containing the dates only of books of account, intitled ‘Easter Books’.

1989 Local Pop. Stud. 42 18 (title) A guide to Easter Books and related parish listings.

Easter bunny n. [compare earlier Easter hare n.] chiefly U.S. a rabbit traditionally said to bring gifts to children at Easter; a representation of this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > imaginary persons or creatures

man in the moon1596

Briarean1598

phantasim1598

mooncalf1638

splacknuck1726

Idomenian1764

little green man1802

ring-tailed roarer1828

Belsnickel1830

ice worm1830

catawampus1843

whangdoodle1852

Prince Charming1855

boojum1876

snark1879

Easter rabbit1881

Easter bunny1900

death moth1910

Moomin1950

energy vampire1967

tooth fairy1977

society > communication > representation > physical representation of abstraction > symbolizing > [noun] > a symbol > specific symbols > others

Samian letter1616

A1651

Tetragrammaton1656

arrow1744

arrowhead1832

wind1847

scarlet letter1850

sun wheel1865

sacred axe1866

rising sun1868

crow's foot1871

Easter rabbit1881

hexagram1882

sun sign1882

Easter bunny1900

Staffordshire knot1908

sinsigna1914

tectiform1921

padma1954

smiley face1957

happy face1971

lexigram1973

emoticon1988

smiley1989

1900 News (Frederick, Maryland) 10 Apr. The origin of the American Easter bunny or rabbit was the European hare.

1922 Child Life Apr. 225/1 It was Easter Eve. The Easter Bunny, with his basket of eggs, was on his way home across the fields to wherever he lives.

1957 ‘T. Sturgeon’ Thunder & Roses 206 A child's implicit belief in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

2008 Time Out N.Y. 13 Mar. 121/3 The Americans tell our kids tall tales of the Easter Bunny.

Easter dues n. money payable at Easter to the incumbent of a parish by the parishioners.

ΚΠ

1662 E. Reynolds Articles Diocese of Norwich 5 Do all Communicants pay their Easter dues to your Minister?

1785 Strother's Jrnl. 30 Mar. (1912) (modernized text) ii. 81 The Vicar has limited the time for receiving the Easter dues to six days.

1876 Globe Encycl. II. 548/2 The name of offerings, oblations, obventions, fruits of the Church livings..were applied chiefly to Easter dues.

1949 Times 20 Apr. 5/6 ‘Easter dues’ are a personal thank you from the congregation to their priest for all his ministrations during the year.

2004 M. Murphy Don't wake me at Doyles (2006) v. 66 Every year the whole parish had to give money for the Easter Dues for the upkeep of the church.

Easter Eve n. the evening and hence the day before Easter Sunday, Holy Saturday.

ΚΠ

c1300 St. Brendan (Laud) l. 366 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 229 (MED) A-gode friday al þe longue day for-to an ester eue.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 111 (MED) Euery ȝere an Ester eue comeþ fire from heuene.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxxii. 208 That one Sabboth or Saturday which falleth out to bee the Easter-eue.

1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 173 That Impostury of fetching fire from the Sepulcher upon Easter eve.

1782 in J. H. Harting Hist. Sardin. Chapel (1905) 25 On the 20th of April, 1782, on Easter Eve, this year.

c1854 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine (1858) xiv. 464 Easter Eve, which by a strange anticipation..eclipses Easter Sunday.

1914 S. Graham With Poor Immigrants to Amer. iv. 80 I came to the diminutive Russian cathedral..on Easter Eve at midnight.

2007 K. Tamburr Harrowing of Hell in Medieval Eng. iii. 70 The Harrowing of Hell had been associated formally and liturgically with baptism on Easter Eve.

Easter Even n. = Easter Eve n.

ΚΠ

OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Hatton) (1900) i. x. 83 Se for his lichaman hefinysse & untrumnysse wearð forðfered on sæternes dæge on þam halgan easteræfenne.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 95 On ester euen gon abuten þe fantston.

1429 in Norfolk Archaeol. (1904) 15 148 (MED) Ye saterday estern even we herieden j acre of lond.

1598 R. Hakluyt tr. Vincent of Beauvais in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 66 Vpon Easter euen we were called vnto the tent.

1797 J. Hey Lect. Divinity II. iii. vi. §2. 49 This part of Scripture [sc. 1 Pet. iii: 19] is still used as the Epistle for Easter Even.

1885 C. H. Davis Lectionary as it might Be (new ed.) 21 In the present Easter-Even lesson, Romans vi.

1980 Church Times 22 Feb. 10/2 The day which the general public insist on calling ‘Easter Saturday’ but which churchpeople know as Holy Saturday or Easter Even.

2002 A. Clarke Polished Hoe (2003) i. 10 That Sunday morning was in the Easter season! It was Easter Even.

Easter faith n. Christian faith in the Resurrection.

ΚΠ

1864 R. Smith tr. J. P. Lange Life Lord Jesus Christ VI. iv. ix. 440 Thus arises, thus unfolds itself, an Easter faith.

1903 Catholic Univ. Bull. 9 218 We must cling to the Easter Faith although we reject the Easter Message; we must hold to faith in the Resurrection though not in the fact of the Resurrection.

2002 D. N. Penny in H. W. Ballard et al. Journey of Faith vii. 103 A second consequence of the Easter faith is that it revealed a positive significance of the crucifixion.

Easter hare n. [after German Osterhase] (chiefly in Germany) a hare traditionally said to bring gifts to children at Easter; a representation of this; cf. Easter bunny n.

ΚΠ

1851 Househ. Words 7 June 263/1 Many, also, were the sugar hares, Easter hares—those fabulous creatures so dear to German children.

1915 E. B. McDonald & J. Dalrymple Fritz in Germany xiii. 91 Not until they found the garnet ring and the string of pink beads, did they suspect that it was no Easter hare that had hidden them in such funny places.

2006 Get Creative Apr. 95/2 The arrival of the ‘Oschter Haws’—the white Easter Hare—was considered one of the highlights of a child's year.

Easter lamb n. (a) = paschal lamb n. at paschal n. and adj. Compounds; (b) roast lamb, when eaten as the traditional dish at an Easter dinner.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > meat dishes > [noun] > roasted meat

bredea1000

roasteda1398

roasta1400

Easter lambc1400

hasterya1475

roast meat1528

roast beef1564

rib roast1627

rôti1771

rosbif1822

Sunday joint1844

buccan1862

sauerbraten1889

crown roast1901

schooner on the rocks1916

porchetta1929

sour beef1935

siu mei1960

nyama choma1980

c1400 Prose Versions New Test.: 1 Cor. (Selwyn) (1904) v. 8 (MED) Crist is y-offred, oure astur-lomb.

a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 3131 (MED) Þis astere-lomb apered þere opynlyche in herre syȝt.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Esdras vii. 10 They that came out of captiuyte, kylled the easter lambe.

1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxx. 561 Jesus the true Easterlambe.

1617 J. Moore Mappe Mans Mortal. iii. x. 255 The sweet Easter-Lambe must be eaten with sowre hearbes.

1754 J. M. Magens tr. P. S. Nakskow Art. Faith Holy Evangelical Church xxvii. 168 Christ..instituted..the Lord's Supper in the Room of the Easter Lamb.

1870 All Year Round 12 Mar. 354/1 The dish of emerald was found..from which Christ ate the Easter lamb.

1993 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 6 Apr. Many Eastern Orthodox Christians hang pictures of the Easter lamb in their homes.

1993 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 13 June 3/1 A taste that challenges us..the vinegary mint sauce alongside the Easter lamb.

Easter Parade n. a parade or pageant held at Eastertime, esp. of people in new or striking clothes.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > social event > festive occasion > specific festivities > [noun] > festivities associated with Easter

withe1465

heaving1787

Easter Parade1874

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > a public show or spectacle > type of show or spectacle > [noun] > parade or procession > other parades or processions

progressa1556

Lord Mayor's Show1636

cavalcade1644

perahera1681

bridewain1789

Easter Parade1874

concours d'élégance1950

carcade1964

1874 Guernsey Mag. 2 Index Militia, The, Easter Parade.

1883 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 2 Apr. 7/1 Those severe strictures in the Press which in former years was regarded as the inevitable accompaniment of the Easter Parade.

1933 I. Berlin Easter Parade (song) In your Easter bonnet..you'll be the grandest lady In that Easter Parade.

1973 Times 24 Apr. 12/7 Several thousand people turned up at Battersea Park for the Easter Parade.

2006 Chesapeake Life Apr. 29/1 An old-fashioned celebration that includes breakfast with the Easter Bunny, sack and spoon races..and an Easter parade.

Easter-parading n. participation in an Easter parade.

ΚΠ

1918 Waterloo (Iowa) Times-Tribune 18 Mar. 6/5 A little strutting and parading is good for any of us. Easter parading is especially beneficial.

1953 Life 23 Mar. 42/3 Disturbed by the irreligious emphasis on Easter parading, Baptist Minister E. A. Munroe..has asked his flock to give up gaudiness for the sake of godliness.

1983 N.Y. Mag. 4 Apr. 67 Discovered in an old glove factory (and never worn), they've surfaced just in time for Easter parading.

2006 M. G. Karp In Flagrante Collecto xiii. 202 Strong enough to endure energetic bouts of trick- and-treating as well as Easter-parading.

Easter rabbit n. originally U.S. = Easter bunny n.

ΚΠ

1881 Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News 16 Apr. In this instance the Easter rabbit did not pass us by.

1975 Guardian 19 July 11/1 The German food shop, bristling with meaty wurst, spicy salami,..and chocolate Easter rabbits, will close its doors.

2008 K. Gale Feed Goose x. 171 The children were so convinced that there truly was an Easter Rabbit, as they had living proof when he re-entered the wooded area.

Easter reckoning n. (a) a payment made at Easter to the incumbent of a parish in return for administration of the Eucharist (now historical); (b) a method for calculating the date of Easter.

ΚΠ

1615 in H. Fishwick Hist. Garstang (1878) i. ii. 88 The Easter dueties and paym^ts att Easter commonlie called the Easter Reckonings.

a1708 R. Davies Acct. Convincem., Exercises, Services & Trav. (1710) 133 I told him, that his Clerk had been with me from him, for that which he called Easter-Reckonings... He said, I owed him for several Years for the Sacrament.

1880 W. Smith & S. Cheetham Dict. Christian Antiq. II. 1387/2 The epoch of the ecclesiastical year..was prescribed by the requirements of the Easter reckoning.

1922 Eng. Hist. Rev. 37 477 The date on which this view is based is discussed in detail and shown to be more probably of the year 857, which destroys its value as evidence for the Easter reckoning.

1998 L. Bunce Idea of Property in 17th-cent. Eng. ii. 54 Besides their tithes, they took money for preaching funeral sermons, and extracted Easter reckonings and Midsummer dues.

2005 C. Stancliffe in P. Fouracre New Cambr. Medieval Hist. I. xv. 420 Aidan, Finan and Colman had to keep to the Easter reckoning in use on Iona; they were not free to adopt the Roman system of reckoning.

Easter sepulchre n. Church Architecture = sepulchre n. 3a.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > furniture > sepulchre > [noun]

sepulchre1389

sepulture1485

Easter sepulchre1840

1840 G. Poulson Hist. & Antiq. Seigniory of Holderness I. Contents p. xix/2 Easter Sepulchre, Patrington.

1934 Times 8 Oct. 10/4 I doubt whether a cupboard in the wall was ever used for this purpose before the Reformation, with the exception of the Easter Sepulchre.

2006 P. M. King York Myst. Cycle & Worship of City vi. 157 The Easter Sepulchre had funerary associations, and was indeed sometimes the memorial of an individual donor.

Easter sittings n. (formerly also Easter sitting) a period between Easter and Whitsun, during which the Courts in England are sitting and fully available for judicial business; cf. sitting n. 3a.

ΚΠ

1679 R. Haines Method of Govt. 5 That every Parish, and Parishes united, do bring a fair account..to the Justices at their Easter sitting.

?1823 R. Carlile Proc. Mock Trial 35 Why was not this trial brought on after the Easter sittings?

1890 H. R. Haggard Beatrice (1894) xix. 179 It was the Friday before Whit-Sunday, and the last day of the Easter sittings.

1983 Times 27 May 30/4 Easter sittings at the Royal Courts of Justice end today.

2003 T. Shakesheff Rural Confl., Crime, & Protest v. 121 68.72 per cent of all petty session convictions for wood-theft..were recorded at the Epiphany and Easter sittings.

Easter Sunday n. = Easter Day n.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] > Sunday in

EastereOE

Easter DayOE

Easter SundayOE

pasch dayc1175

resurrectionc1300

Great Dayc1350

pace daya1425

God's Sundaya1500

OE Homily: Sunnandæges Spell (Tiber. A.iii) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 222 Ic an heofonas astah an þone halgan eastorsunnandæg.

1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. ii. ii. f. 49^v As yet they kept not the Easter sondaye in dew time, but from the. 14. to the. 20. moone.

1665 Disc. conc. Devils & Spirits i. iv. 5 in R. Scot Discov. Witchcraft (ed. 3) Since that hour he could prophesie at all times, saving on Good-friday, and Easter-sunday.

1789 J. Clarke Surv. Lakes Cumberland (ed. 2) p. xxi It is hardly worth while to mention here the pace-eggs of Easter-Sunday, [etc.].

1885 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. (ed. 3) 405/2 The Mass celebrated at midnight belonged rather to the morning of Easter Sunday than to Holy Saturday.

1911 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 13 Apr. 6/1 (advt.) Your Easter Sunday menu will demand the luscious, healthful Olive.

1999 F. McCourt 'Tis xli. 364 I know the priest up there wearing the purple chasuble of Lent will change to a white on Easter Sunday when Christ is risen.

Easter supper n. (a) the Jewish Passover meal; (b) a communal evening meal eaten by Christians at Easter.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > ritual meal

Easter supper1548

agape1784

1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Mark xiv. f. 15 There prepare you for vs our easter souper.

1864 M. Dods in tr. J. P. Lange Life Jesus IV. vi. i. 23 The Easter supper, which was partaken after sundown, belonged to the next day, the 15th Nisan.

1865 tr. D. F. Strauss New Life Jesus I. 97 Christians were..to postpone the celebration of the Easter Supper to the following Sunday, as the day of the resurrection.

1951 B. Atkinson Once around Sun 121 O. and I are invited to an Easter supper with some Russian actors and writers.

1994 15th Cent. Stud. 21 35 Preparing their Easter supper, the Jews ready a dummy Golden Calf.

Easter taper n. [compare post-classical Latin cereus paschalis] a taper used in church ceremonies at Easter; = paschal candle n. at paschal n. and adj. Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > consumables > candle or light > [noun] > for Easter

paschal1426

Easter taper1443

paschal taperc1443

1443 Acct. in Berks, Bucks & Oxon Archæol. Jrnl. (1902) 8 27 (MED) Estertapur.

1579 G. Gilpin tr. P. van Marnix van Sant Aldegonde Bee Hiue of Romishe Church v. f. 330^v These are the wordes which shee doeth vse vpon Easter eeuen, in the hallowing or sanctifying of her Easter Tapers.

a1654 A. Ross Πανσεβεια (1655) xiii. 447 They [sc. Catholics] consecrate also their Crosses and Images, and Easter Tapers.

1848 Secret Soc. Mid. Ages 361 The bone..he had filled with the wax of an Easter-taper, and with incense.

1937 D. G. Spicer Bk. Festivals 279 In case of thunder, lighting the Easter taper..is said to avert harm from the house.

2005 Portage (Manitoba) Daily Graphic (Nexis) 19 Mar. 12 We light our Easter tapers from the Christ candle.

Easter time n. = Eastertide n.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] > Sunday in > season in

EastertideOE

Easter timea1387

pasch-tidea1400

Paschaltide1876

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 189 (MED) For to holde ariȝt þe Ester tyme þre rules beeþ nedeful to knowe.

a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2023 (MED) Yn lentyn tyme of fastyng Shalt þou leue to do swyche þyng; yn estyr tyme also y forbede Þat þou haunte any swyche dede.

1568 L. Vaux Catechisme f. 90 Euery Christian man and woman..at euery Easter time to receiue [the Sacrament].

1623 J. Abbot Iesus Præfigured ii. 47 At Easter time you joye to see your Board, (As was the Israelites) with a Lambe stord.

1748 A. Bower Hist. Popes I. 234 At Easter, and during the Pentecost of that Festival, meaning, in all likelihood, all Easter time.

1849 M. Arnold Strayed Reveller, & Other Poems 104 'Twill be Easter-time in the world.

1976 M. Apple Oranging of Amer. 65 They used to come together every year at Easter time.

2007 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 16 Mar. (What's Up section) 30 The rice tart is a seasonal specialty, usually offered around Easter time.

Easter week n. the week beginning with Easter Day.

ΚΠ

OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) xx. 11 (rubric) Ðis godspel gebirað on þunresdæg innan þære easterucan.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 6062 (MED) Þe saterday þe ester wouke þis holy man hii slowe.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 439 (MED) Þis ȝere deyde Hughe abbot of Cluny, in þe Ester wyke.

1455 in Trans. Bristol & Gloucs. Archaeol. Soc. 1890–1 (1891) 15 147 The service of the Tuesday yn the Estur weke.

1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Celebr. Holye Communion f. lx Tuisdaye in Easter weke.

a1670 S. Collins Present State Russia (1671) 18 In the Easter week all his Majesties Servants and Nobility kiss the Patriarchs Hand, and receive either gilded, or red Eggs.

1791 J. Woodforde Diary 22 Apr. (1927) III. 267 He had an inclination to go with us to a Play at Norwich in the Easter Week.

1884 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. 285/1 Down to the twelfth century each day in Easter week was a holiday of obligation.

1938 Times 29 Apr. 12/5 St. George's Day has the disadvantage of again and again..falling in Easter Week.

2003 Oxoniensia 67 34 He held a hiring fair..on the Tuesday of Easter week.

Easter weekend n. the weekend on which Easter falls; often applied to the entire four-day period from Good Friday to Easter Monday.

ΚΠ

1894 Nat. Sci. Apr. 320 We are organising a..dredging expedition for Easter week-end.

1973 N.Y. Mag. 30 June 49/2 Then the Communist offensive came—not at Tet, as feared—but on Easter weekend.

2007 Voice 16 Apr. 10/5 We've all just enjoyed the four-day Easter weekend, but some people think they have a right to use ‘sickies’ to take long weekends or extend holidays as they please.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	easter
释义	Eastern.¹ Brit. /ˈiːstə/, U.S. /ˈistər/ Forms: α. Old English Aestor (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Aestur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Aeuster (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Earster (in compounds, transmission error), Old English Eastor (in compounds), Old English Eastra (Mercian, plural), Old English Eastro (chiefly Northumbrian, singular and plural), Old English Eastru (plural), Old English Eastur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Eostor (Northumbrian, in derivatives), Old English Eostro (Northumbrian, singular and plural), Old English Eostru (Northumbrian, singular and plural), Old English Eostur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Estur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Euster (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English Eustur (in compounds in a Latin text), Old English (in compounds) Middle English– Easter, Old English–early Middle English Æster, Old English–Middle English Eastre (singular, occasionally plural), Old English–1600s Ester, late Old English Æstær, late Old English Giester (in compounds), early Middle English Æstere, early Middle English Æstre, early Middle English Iester, Middle English Aster, Middle English Astere, Middle English Astur, Middle English Astyr, Middle English Eester, Middle English Eestir, Middle English Estir, Middle English Estre, Middle English Eystere, Middle English Hester, Middle English Hestur, Middle English Hyster, Middle English Yestre (Kent), Middle English Ystyre, Middle English–1500s Estur, Middle English–1500s Estyr, 1500s Astr, 1600s Eister (Scottish), 1800s– Aister (English regional (Lancashire)), 1800s– Aisther (English regional (Lancashire)), 1800s– Haster (English regional (Wiltshire)). β. Old English Easterne (in a late copy), Old English Eastran (inflected form), Old English Eastrean (inflected form, rare), Old English Eastrian (in a late copy), Old English Eastron (inflected form), Old English Eastrun (inflected form), late Old English Æsterne (inflected form), late Old English Easran (inflected form), late Old English Eastern (inflected form), late Old English Estran (inflected form), late Old English Ęstron (inflected form), late Old English–early Middle English Eastren (inflected form), late Old English–early Middle English Estron (inflected form), late Old English–Middle English Estren, early Middle English Æstron (inflected form), Middle English Asterne, Middle English Eesterne, Middle English Eestren, Middle English Estarne, Middle English Esteren, Middle English Estrene, Middle English Estryn, Middle English Hestern, Middle English–1500s Estern, Middle English–1500s Esterne. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Dutch ōster- (in ōstermānōth April, lit. ‘Easter-month’), Old Saxon ōstar- (in ōstarfrisking paschal lamb; Middle Low German ōsteren , ōstern , plural), Old High German ōstara (usually in plural ōstarūn ; Middle High German ōster (usually in plural ōstern ), German Ostern , singular and (now chiefly regional) plural), probably < the same Germanic base as east adv. (and hence ultimately cognate with Sanskrit uṣas , Avestan ušah- , ancient Greek (Ionic and Epic) ἠώς , (Attic) ἕως , classical Latin aurōra , all in sense ‘dawn’). For alternative (and less likely) etymologies see the references cited below. It is noteworthy that among the Germanic languages the word (as the name for Easter) is restricted to English and German; in other Germanic languages, as indeed in most European languages, the usual word for Easter is derived from the corresponding word for the Jewish Passover; compare pasch n.Bede ( De Temporum Ratione 15. 9: see quot. below) derives the word < Eostre (a Northumbrian spelling; also Eastre in a variant reading), according to him, the name of a goddess whose festival was celebrated by the pagan Anglo-Saxons around the time of the vernal equinox (presumably in origin a goddess of the dawn, as the name is to be derived from the same Germanic base as east adv.: see above). This explanation is not confirmed by any other source, and the goddess has been suspected by some scholars to be an invention of Bede's. However, it seems unlikely that Bede would have invented a fictitious pagan festival in order to account for a Christian one. For further discussion and alternative derivations see D. H. Green Lang. & Hist. Early Germanic World (1998) 351–3, J. Udolph & K. Schäferdieck in J. Hoops's Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde (ed. 2, 2003) XXII. 331–8, and for a parallel development compare yule n. Bede's etymology comes in a passage explaining the origin of the Old English names of the months:a735 Bede De Temporum Ratione xv Eostur-monath, qui nunc paschalis mensis interpretatur, quondam a dea illorum quae Eostre vocabatur, et cui in illo festa celebrabant, nomen habuit, a cujus nomine nunc paschale tempus cognominant, consueto antiquae observationis vocabulo gaudia novae solemnitatis vocantes. Compare Old English Ēastermōnað April, cognate with or formed similarly to Old Dutch ōstermānōth (in a translation from German), Old High German ōstarmānōd (Middle High German ōstermānōt , German Ostermonat , now archaic) < the Germanic base of Easter n.¹ + the Germanic base of month n.¹ A borrowing of the Old English word into West Slavonic (during the time of the Anglo-Saxon mission to Germany) perhaps underlies Polabian jostråi , Lower Sorbian jatšy , (regional) jastry , Kashubian jastrë , all in sense ‘Easter’; however, it has been argued that these are rather to be derived from a native base meaning ‘clear, bright’, and thus (via a connection with the coming of spring) show a parallel development to the Germanic word. The form of the word in Old English shows much (especially dialectal) variation: in West Saxon usually a weak feminine plural (Ēastran ; frequently in form Ēastron (also Ēastrun ), probably reflecting a variant form of the Germanic thematic element: see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §619.1), also occasionally found in the singular (Ēastre ); an apparently strong feminine plural by-form (Ēastra ), apparently Mercian, is rarely attested; in Northumbrian usually a strong neuter plural (Ēostru , Ēostro ), also occasionally found in the singular (sometimes apparently invariably as Ēostro , sometimes in inflected forms, e.g. genitive Ēostres ). The combining form Ēaster is widely attested. The β. forms represent Old English Ēastran (the form of both the weak feminine plural and the inflected form of the weak feminine singular) and its later reflexes. The forms of some compounds in Middle English and early modern English may reflect compounds of the Old English weak feminine genitive singular or plural (respectively Ēastran and Ēastrena). 1. a. The most important and oldest of the festivals of the Christian Church, commemorating the resurrection of Christ and observed annually on the Sunday which follows the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Also (more generally): Easter week or the weekend from Good Friday to Easter Monday, Eastertide. In Old English frequently in plural.Easter is observed on the first Sunday after the paschal full moon (not the astronomical full moon) which occurs on or after 21 March. The actual date varies according to the calendar used in its calculation. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] > Sunday in EastereOE Easter DayOE Easter SundayOE pasch dayc1175 resurrectionc1300 Great Dayc1350 pace daya1425 God's Sundaya1500 eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 365 Phase, eastran. OE Ælfric De Temporibus Anni (Cambr. Gg.3.28) (2009) iv. 84 On sumon geare bið se mona twelf siðon geniwod, fram ðære halgan eastertide oð eft eastron. OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) v. xix. 470 Ic þonne nu [eow] openlice andette.., þæt ic ðas tide Eastrena ecelice healdan wille mid ealre minre ðeode. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1101 To Cristesmæssan heold se cyng Heanrig his hired on Westmynstre & to Eastran on Winceastre. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 101 (MED) Þe þre dage biforen estre [ben] cleped swidages. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9230 He ferde to Lunden. He wes þere an Æstre. c1300 St. Brendan (Harl.) l. 151 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 224 Þer ȝe schulle þis ester beo, & þis wit-sonedai also. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3289 Ðor-of in esterne be we wunen Seuene siðes to funt cumen. 1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 35 Þe soneday fourtnythe after esterne. Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 143/2 Eesterne, Pascha. a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 3140 Þis miracle was þus..y-do, In þe astere nexste after hurre body-dyenge. 1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxxiii. 254 The clergye..wold not graunte vnto Estre next comyng. 1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 278 From passyon sonday tyl Esterne. 1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie iv. xi. 194 Keeping the feast of Easter on the same day the Iewes kept theirs. 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 55 The Spring-time, wherein the Feast of Easter..was celebrated. 1680 J. Dryden Kind Keeper iv. i. 39 He made me keep Lent last year till Whitsontide, and out-fac'd me with Oaths, it was but Easter. a1712 G. Martine Reliquiæ Divi Andreae (1797) 188 The senȝie mercat..beginning the second week after Easter. 1782 J. Priestley Hist. Corruptions Christianity II. viii. 129 The first..festival..that was observed..was Easter. 1838 W. Howitt Rural Life Eng. II. iii. iv. 166 Easter was the great festival of the church. 1863 G. Meredith Let. 15 Apr. (1970) I. 199 By the way, my darling little man came home at Easter. 1916 ‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin viii. 142 Most of the younger men were past caring whether it was Christmas or Easter. 1954 Los Angeles Times 12 Apr. ii. 10/4 A bowlful of pysanky, blessed at Easter, guards a Ukrainian home against lightning and fire. 1993 Independent 22 Feb. 10/4 I used to visit her at Easter and the summer hols, and cried buckets when I left her. 2006 St James' Parish Mag. (Blackburn) Apr. 9 The sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross, enfolded in the glory of Easter. b. The action or an act of receiving the Holy Eucharist during the season of Easter, as required of members of the Roman Catholic Church. Originally and chiefly in to make (also †do) one's Easter (see make v.¹ 43g): to receive the Holy Eucharist at Easter, to fulfil one's Easter duty (Easter duty n. 2). Now chiefly figurative. ΚΠ 1700 T. Marwood Diary 8 Apr. in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1909) 7 62 I was at S^t Gomars & Saw ye Quire do their Easter. 1885 E. H. Dering Lady of Raven's Combe I. ii. 20 Mick..is..very happy about everything, when he has made his Easter. 1892 Month May 37 Taking in those who have made their Easters at Melior St...we may count the Easters as 2000. 1903 B. A. H. Wiberforce Let. 7 May in Life & Lett. xvi. 344 No sick just now. All but four made their Easter. 1935 H. N. Brailsford Voltaire 237 He performed the minimum act of conformity demanded by the Church; that is to say, in the usual French phrase, he ‘made his Easter’. 1972 P. Freire in Catholic Mind Sept. 7/2 For the First World to hear that Word, it must previously undergo an Easter. 1998 M. McGuckian in L. E. Beattie & M. A. Shaughnessy Sisters in Pain 99 I make my Easter walking between the graves, Head high in the air. 2. = Passover n. 1. Now only in Jewish Easter or with other contextual indication. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > Jewish seasons and feasts > Passover > [noun] EasterOE phaseOE paschOE forthforea1325 fasea1425 Passover1530 passing-by1533 paschala1535 azyme1582 feast1611 Pesach1613 OE Blickling Homilies 67 Hælend cwom syx dagum ær Iudea eastrum, to Bethania. OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 1 Soþlice þa æfter twam dagum wæron eastron. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. xxxi. 546 Ester hatte pascha in grewe..and is iclepid in ebrewe phase, þat is ‘passinge oþir passage’. c1450 (c1400) Bk. Vices & Virtues (Huntington) (1942) 131 (MED) Wiþ grete desire I haue desired þis Eestren, þat is þis Paske. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezek. xlv. 21 Vpon y^e xiiij. daye of the first moneth ye shal kepe Easter. 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Whitsunday i, in J. Griffiths Two Bks. Homilies (1859) ii. 453 Easter, a great, and solemne feast among the Jewes. 1611 Bible (King James) Acts xii. 4 Intending after Easter to bring him foorth. View more context for this quotation 1662 P. Gunning Paschal or Lent-Fast 37 S. Iohn and S. Philip finding it usefull..to observe the Christian Easter on the same day with the Jewish Easter. 1792 J. Douglas Disc. Infl. Christian Relig. xii. 213 The catastrophe took place at the celebration of Easter, when the Jews had flocked to the city from the distant regions of the empire. 1812 Port Folio Sept. 297 An extract from two Hebrew works on the Jewish easter. 1883 J. L. Meagher Festal Year viii. 281 The Jews held their Easter on the fourteenth moon of the month of March. 1934 Times 24 Dec. 9/6 During the 14 years from A.D. 20 to 33 the only year in which the Jewish Easter (15 Nisan) fell on a Friday was the year 27. 1973 Adolescent Psychiatry 3 60 Hence, the English name Passover for the Jewish Easter. 2004 J. Lloyd tr. J. Pérez Spanish Inquisition 19 They..ceased all activities on the day of the sabbath, recited Jewish prayers, celebrated Jewish Easter and other festivals. Compounds attributive. C1. General attributive, as Easter festival, Easter holidays, †Easter morrow, Easter night, †Easter pence, etc. ΚΠ OE Descent into Hell 15 Sohton sarigu tu sigebearn Godes ænne in þæt eorðærn þær hi ær wiston þæt hine gehyddan hæleð Iudea; wendan þæt he on þam beorge bidan sceolde, ana in þære easterniht. OE St. Mary of Egypt (Julius) (2002) 106 He..to þam mynstre ferde on þære ylcan tide þe heora Eastergewuna wæron togædere becuman. c1300 St. Brendan (Harl.) l. 215 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 225 (MED) Eche ȝer ȝe schulle her mid ous holde ester-feste. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 9098 (MED) Nobliche is ester feste he huld..In is vaire halle at oxenford. a1475 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 277 (MED) He ros on estryn morwe. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xx. 6 After the ester holidayes. 1635 R. Boyle Diary in Lismore Papers (1886) 1st Ser. IV. 138 50^li was lent to my son..which I am to abate owt of his next Easter exhibicon. 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. i. v. 30 The solemnity of Easter Festivall duly celebrated. 1676 A. Marvell Mr. Smirke sig. B2^v [Some] would..have ventur'd their Coffee-Farthings, yea their Easter-pence by advance. 1722 London Gaz. No. 6052/1 The Easter-Holidays having passed. 1826 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 21 Oct. 195 The house-lambs and the early Easter-lambs. 1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 13 The Easter recess will be here in a day or two. 1925 Amer. Mercury July 315/1 [His] discovery of this wonderful anise bag occurred right after the Easter Vacation. 1977 B. MacLaverty Secrets 48 It was Thursday and the Easter rush had started. 2008 Time Out N.Y. 13 Mar. 121/3 The logical French delight their youngsters with chocolate eggs from the much more believable Easter Hen. C2. Designating the days of Easter week following Easter Day, as Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. Cf. Easter Saturday is now frequently used to denote Holy Saturday, the Saturday before Easter Day. ΚΠ a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 133 (MED) On Eestir monedai. a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 68 (MED) Forto do penance and labour jn longyng, tyll he come to Astyr Setyrday. 1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 66 Ther we a bode..Ester evyn, Ester Day, And also Ester munday..Ester Tewysday..we Departyd. 1602 S. Patrick tr. J. de Hainault Estate of Church 196 This Theodorus instituted the blessing of the Sierge on Easter Saterday. ?c1663 B. Whitelocke Diary (1990) 345 Easter Monday there was great solemnity & excellent musicke in the Q[ueens] chappell. 1708 W. Nicolson London Diaries 25 Mar. (1985) 465 She miscarryed on Easter-Monday before the pretended birth of her Son on Trinity-Sunday following. 1755 T. Forbes in C. Gist Jrnls. (1893) 148 Easter Tuesday we embarked. 1805 ‘D. Hughson’ London II. 396 The lord mayor and corporation always attended, robed in violet gowns, on Good Friday and Easter Wednesday. 1943 Billboard 1 May 21/4 In Atlantic City, Steel Pier's Marine Ballroom has lined up three bands for the Easter Saturday and Sunday. 1973 J. R. Powers Last Catholic in Amer. vii. 105 My sister started spreading newspapers over the kitchen table in preparation for the Easter Saturday night ritual of egg coloring. 2007 A. Enright Gathering xvi. 105 It is Easter Monday and every car in Dublin is making for Fairyhouse in a convoy. C3. Easter basket n. originally North American a basket, typically filled with sweets or coloured eggs, used as a decoration or given as a gift at Easter. ΚΠ 1881 North Amer. (Philadelphia) 2 Apr. Their assortment of Easter baskets and bags for young misses is rare and splendid. 1931 M. Elderton Case Stud. Unemploym. 70 Now we can give the children an Easter basket. 2007 Gold Coast Sun (Austral.) (Nexis) 14 Mar. 92 Its Easter basket is a chocolate lover's dream overflowing with everything from individual Easter mud cakes to deliciously decadent rum balls. Easter book n. now historical an account book for recording Easter dues. ΚΠ 1534 King Henry VIII in J. Bacon Liber Regis (1786) p. vi [They shall] also se and veu such regesters, boks of accoumpt, Ester boks, and all other writings. 1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xxv. 229 Necessity will..make him study his Easter-book more then all other Writers. 1775 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 65 329 In Richmond there are about 600 houses; but the Easter book enumerates only 450 families. 1828 J. Jervis & E. Younge Rep. Cases Court of Exchequer I. 28 The defendant..set forth a schedule containing the dates only of books of account, intitled ‘Easter Books’. 1989 Local Pop. Stud. 42 18 (title) A guide to Easter Books and related parish listings. Easter bunny n. [compare earlier Easter hare n.] chiefly U.S. a rabbit traditionally said to bring gifts to children at Easter; a representation of this. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > imaginary persons or creatures man in the moon1596 Briarean1598 phantasim1598 mooncalf1638 splacknuck1726 Idomenian1764 little green man1802 ring-tailed roarer1828 Belsnickel1830 ice worm1830 catawampus1843 whangdoodle1852 Prince Charming1855 boojum1876 snark1879 Easter rabbit1881 Easter bunny1900 death moth1910 Moomin1950 energy vampire1967 tooth fairy1977 society > communication > representation > physical representation of abstraction > symbolizing > [noun] > a symbol > specific symbols > others Samian letter1616 A1651 Tetragrammaton1656 arrow1744 arrowhead1832 wind1847 scarlet letter1850 sun wheel1865 sacred axe1866 rising sun1868 crow's foot1871 Easter rabbit1881 hexagram1882 sun sign1882 Easter bunny1900 Staffordshire knot1908 sinsigna1914 tectiform1921 padma1954 smiley face1957 happy face1971 lexigram1973 emoticon1988 smiley1989 1900 News (Frederick, Maryland) 10 Apr. The origin of the American Easter bunny or rabbit was the European hare. 1922 Child Life Apr. 225/1 It was Easter Eve. The Easter Bunny, with his basket of eggs, was on his way home across the fields to wherever he lives. 1957 ‘T. Sturgeon’ Thunder & Roses 206 A child's implicit belief in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. 2008 Time Out N.Y. 13 Mar. 121/3 The Americans tell our kids tall tales of the Easter Bunny. Easter dues n. money payable at Easter to the incumbent of a parish by the parishioners. ΚΠ 1662 E. Reynolds Articles Diocese of Norwich 5 Do all Communicants pay their Easter dues to your Minister? 1785 Strother's Jrnl. 30 Mar. (1912) (modernized text) ii. 81 The Vicar has limited the time for receiving the Easter dues to six days. 1876 Globe Encycl. II. 548/2 The name of offerings, oblations, obventions, fruits of the Church livings..were applied chiefly to Easter dues. 1949 Times 20 Apr. 5/6 ‘Easter dues’ are a personal thank you from the congregation to their priest for all his ministrations during the year. 2004 M. Murphy Don't wake me at Doyles (2006) v. 66 Every year the whole parish had to give money for the Easter Dues for the upkeep of the church. Easter Eve n. the evening and hence the day before Easter Sunday, Holy Saturday. ΚΠ c1300 St. Brendan (Laud) l. 366 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 229 (MED) A-gode friday al þe longue day for-to an ester eue. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 111 (MED) Euery ȝere an Ester eue comeþ fire from heuene. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxxii. 208 That one Sabboth or Saturday which falleth out to bee the Easter-eue. 1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 173 That Impostury of fetching fire from the Sepulcher upon Easter eve. 1782 in J. H. Harting Hist. Sardin. Chapel (1905) 25 On the 20th of April, 1782, on Easter Eve, this year. c1854 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine (1858) xiv. 464 Easter Eve, which by a strange anticipation..eclipses Easter Sunday. 1914 S. Graham With Poor Immigrants to Amer. iv. 80 I came to the diminutive Russian cathedral..on Easter Eve at midnight. 2007 K. Tamburr Harrowing of Hell in Medieval Eng. iii. 70 The Harrowing of Hell had been associated formally and liturgically with baptism on Easter Eve. Easter Even n. = Easter Eve n. ΚΠ OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Hatton) (1900) i. x. 83 Se for his lichaman hefinysse & untrumnysse wearð forðfered on sæternes dæge on þam halgan easteræfenne. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 95 On ester euen gon abuten þe fantston. 1429 in Norfolk Archaeol. (1904) 15 148 (MED) Ye saterday estern even we herieden j acre of lond. 1598 R. Hakluyt tr. Vincent of Beauvais in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 66 Vpon Easter euen we were called vnto the tent. 1797 J. Hey Lect. Divinity II. iii. vi. §2. 49 This part of Scripture [sc. 1 Pet. iii: 19] is still used as the Epistle for Easter Even. 1885 C. H. Davis Lectionary as it might Be (new ed.) 21 In the present Easter-Even lesson, Romans vi. 1980 Church Times 22 Feb. 10/2 The day which the general public insist on calling ‘Easter Saturday’ but which churchpeople know as Holy Saturday or Easter Even. 2002 A. Clarke Polished Hoe (2003) i. 10 That Sunday morning was in the Easter season! It was Easter Even. Easter faith n. Christian faith in the Resurrection. ΚΠ 1864 R. Smith tr. J. P. Lange Life Lord Jesus Christ VI. iv. ix. 440 Thus arises, thus unfolds itself, an Easter faith. 1903 Catholic Univ. Bull. 9 218 We must cling to the Easter Faith although we reject the Easter Message; we must hold to faith in the Resurrection though not in the fact of the Resurrection. 2002 D. N. Penny in H. W. Ballard et al. Journey of Faith vii. 103 A second consequence of the Easter faith is that it revealed a positive significance of the crucifixion. Easter hare n. [after German Osterhase] (chiefly in Germany) a hare traditionally said to bring gifts to children at Easter; a representation of this; cf. Easter bunny n. ΚΠ 1851 Househ. Words 7 June 263/1 Many, also, were the sugar hares, Easter hares—those fabulous creatures so dear to German children. 1915 E. B. McDonald & J. Dalrymple Fritz in Germany xiii. 91 Not until they found the garnet ring and the string of pink beads, did they suspect that it was no Easter hare that had hidden them in such funny places. 2006 Get Creative Apr. 95/2 The arrival of the ‘Oschter Haws’—the white Easter Hare—was considered one of the highlights of a child's year. Easter lamb n. (a) = paschal lamb n. at paschal n. and adj. Compounds; (b) roast lamb, when eaten as the traditional dish at an Easter dinner. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > meat dishes > [noun] > roasted meat bredea1000 roasteda1398 roasta1400 Easter lambc1400 hasterya1475 roast meat1528 roast beef1564 rib roast1627 rôti1771 rosbif1822 Sunday joint1844 buccan1862 sauerbraten1889 crown roast1901 schooner on the rocks1916 porchetta1929 sour beef1935 siu mei1960 nyama choma1980 c1400 Prose Versions New Test.: 1 Cor. (Selwyn) (1904) v. 8 (MED) Crist is y-offred, oure astur-lomb. a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 3131 (MED) Þis astere-lomb apered þere opynlyche in herre syȝt. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Esdras vii. 10 They that came out of captiuyte, kylled the easter lambe. 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxx. 561 Jesus the true Easterlambe. 1617 J. Moore Mappe Mans Mortal. iii. x. 255 The sweet Easter-Lambe must be eaten with sowre hearbes. 1754 J. M. Magens tr. P. S. Nakskow Art. Faith Holy Evangelical Church xxvii. 168 Christ..instituted..the Lord's Supper in the Room of the Easter Lamb. 1870 All Year Round 12 Mar. 354/1 The dish of emerald was found..from which Christ ate the Easter lamb. 1993 Advertiser (Adelaide) (Nexis) 6 Apr. Many Eastern Orthodox Christians hang pictures of the Easter lamb in their homes. 1993 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 13 June 3/1 A taste that challenges us..the vinegary mint sauce alongside the Easter lamb. Easter Parade n. a parade or pageant held at Eastertime, esp. of people in new or striking clothes. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > social event > festive occasion > specific festivities > [noun] > festivities associated with Easter withe1465 heaving1787 Easter Parade1874 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > a public show or spectacle > type of show or spectacle > [noun] > parade or procession > other parades or processions progressa1556 Lord Mayor's Show1636 cavalcade1644 perahera1681 bridewain1789 Easter Parade1874 concours d'élégance1950 carcade1964 1874 Guernsey Mag. 2 Index Militia, The, Easter Parade. 1883 Freeman's Jrnl. (Dublin) 2 Apr. 7/1 Those severe strictures in the Press which in former years was regarded as the inevitable accompaniment of the Easter Parade. 1933 I. Berlin Easter Parade (song) In your Easter bonnet..you'll be the grandest lady In that Easter Parade. 1973 Times 24 Apr. 12/7 Several thousand people turned up at Battersea Park for the Easter Parade. 2006 Chesapeake Life Apr. 29/1 An old-fashioned celebration that includes breakfast with the Easter Bunny, sack and spoon races..and an Easter parade. Easter-parading n. participation in an Easter parade. ΚΠ 1918 Waterloo (Iowa) Times-Tribune 18 Mar. 6/5 A little strutting and parading is good for any of us. Easter parading is especially beneficial. 1953 Life 23 Mar. 42/3 Disturbed by the irreligious emphasis on Easter parading, Baptist Minister E. A. Munroe..has asked his flock to give up gaudiness for the sake of godliness. 1983 N.Y. Mag. 4 Apr. 67 Discovered in an old glove factory (and never worn), they've surfaced just in time for Easter parading. 2006 M. G. Karp In Flagrante Collecto xiii. 202 Strong enough to endure energetic bouts of trick- and-treating as well as Easter-parading. Easter rabbit n. originally U.S. = Easter bunny n. ΚΠ 1881 Lebanon (Pa.) Daily News 16 Apr. In this instance the Easter rabbit did not pass us by. 1975 Guardian 19 July 11/1 The German food shop, bristling with meaty wurst, spicy salami,..and chocolate Easter rabbits, will close its doors. 2008 K. Gale Feed Goose x. 171 The children were so convinced that there truly was an Easter Rabbit, as they had living proof when he re-entered the wooded area. Easter reckoning n. (a) a payment made at Easter to the incumbent of a parish in return for administration of the Eucharist (now historical); (b) a method for calculating the date of Easter. ΚΠ 1615 in H. Fishwick Hist. Garstang (1878) i. ii. 88 The Easter dueties and paym^ts att Easter commonlie called the Easter Reckonings. a1708 R. Davies Acct. Convincem., Exercises, Services & Trav. (1710) 133 I told him, that his Clerk had been with me from him, for that which he called Easter-Reckonings... He said, I owed him for several Years for the Sacrament. 1880 W. Smith & S. Cheetham Dict. Christian Antiq. II. 1387/2 The epoch of the ecclesiastical year..was prescribed by the requirements of the Easter reckoning. 1922 Eng. Hist. Rev. 37 477 The date on which this view is based is discussed in detail and shown to be more probably of the year 857, which destroys its value as evidence for the Easter reckoning. 1998 L. Bunce Idea of Property in 17th-cent. Eng. ii. 54 Besides their tithes, they took money for preaching funeral sermons, and extracted Easter reckonings and Midsummer dues. 2005 C. Stancliffe in P. Fouracre New Cambr. Medieval Hist. I. xv. 420 Aidan, Finan and Colman had to keep to the Easter reckoning in use on Iona; they were not free to adopt the Roman system of reckoning. Easter sepulchre n. Church Architecture = sepulchre n. 3a. ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > furniture > sepulchre > [noun] sepulchre1389 sepulture1485 Easter sepulchre1840 1840 G. Poulson Hist. & Antiq. Seigniory of Holderness I. Contents p. xix/2 Easter Sepulchre, Patrington. 1934 Times 8 Oct. 10/4 I doubt whether a cupboard in the wall was ever used for this purpose before the Reformation, with the exception of the Easter Sepulchre. 2006 P. M. King York Myst. Cycle & Worship of City vi. 157 The Easter Sepulchre had funerary associations, and was indeed sometimes the memorial of an individual donor. Easter sittings n. (formerly also Easter sitting) a period between Easter and Whitsun, during which the Courts in England are sitting and fully available for judicial business; cf. sitting n. 3a. ΚΠ 1679 R. Haines Method of Govt. 5 That every Parish, and Parishes united, do bring a fair account..to the Justices at their Easter sitting. ?1823 R. Carlile Proc. Mock Trial 35 Why was not this trial brought on after the Easter sittings? 1890 H. R. Haggard Beatrice (1894) xix. 179 It was the Friday before Whit-Sunday, and the last day of the Easter sittings. 1983 Times 27 May 30/4 Easter sittings at the Royal Courts of Justice end today. 2003 T. Shakesheff Rural Confl., Crime, & Protest v. 121 68.72 per cent of all petty session convictions for wood-theft..were recorded at the Epiphany and Easter sittings. Easter Sunday n. = Easter Day n. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] > Sunday in EastereOE Easter DayOE Easter SundayOE pasch dayc1175 resurrectionc1300 Great Dayc1350 pace daya1425 God's Sundaya1500 OE Homily: Sunnandæges Spell (Tiber. A.iii) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 222 Ic an heofonas astah an þone halgan eastorsunnandæg. 1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. ii. ii. f. 49^v As yet they kept not the Easter sondaye in dew time, but from the. 14. to the. 20. moone. 1665 Disc. conc. Devils & Spirits i. iv. 5 in R. Scot Discov. Witchcraft (ed. 3) Since that hour he could prophesie at all times, saving on Good-friday, and Easter-sunday. 1789 J. Clarke Surv. Lakes Cumberland (ed. 2) p. xxi It is hardly worth while to mention here the pace-eggs of Easter-Sunday, [etc.]. 1885 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. (ed. 3) 405/2 The Mass celebrated at midnight belonged rather to the morning of Easter Sunday than to Holy Saturday. 1911 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 13 Apr. 6/1 (advt.) Your Easter Sunday menu will demand the luscious, healthful Olive. 1999 F. McCourt 'Tis xli. 364 I know the priest up there wearing the purple chasuble of Lent will change to a white on Easter Sunday when Christ is risen. Easter supper n. (a) the Jewish Passover meal; (b) a communal evening meal eaten by Christians at Easter. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > ritual meal Easter supper1548 agape1784 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Mark xiv. f. 15 There prepare you for vs our easter souper. 1864 M. Dods in tr. J. P. Lange Life Jesus IV. vi. i. 23 The Easter supper, which was partaken after sundown, belonged to the next day, the 15th Nisan. 1865 tr. D. F. Strauss New Life Jesus I. 97 Christians were..to postpone the celebration of the Easter Supper to the following Sunday, as the day of the resurrection. 1951 B. Atkinson Once around Sun 121 O. and I are invited to an Easter supper with some Russian actors and writers. 1994 15th Cent. Stud. 21 35 Preparing their Easter supper, the Jews ready a dummy Golden Calf. Easter taper n. [compare post-classical Latin cereus paschalis] a taper used in church ceremonies at Easter; = paschal candle n. at paschal n. and adj. Compounds. ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > consumables > candle or light > [noun] > for Easter paschal1426 Easter taper1443 paschal taperc1443 1443 Acct. in Berks, Bucks & Oxon Archæol. Jrnl. (1902) 8 27 (MED) Estertapur. 1579 G. Gilpin tr. P. van Marnix van Sant Aldegonde Bee Hiue of Romishe Church v. f. 330^v These are the wordes which shee doeth vse vpon Easter eeuen, in the hallowing or sanctifying of her Easter Tapers. a1654 A. Ross Πανσεβεια (1655) xiii. 447 They [sc. Catholics] consecrate also their Crosses and Images, and Easter Tapers. 1848 Secret Soc. Mid. Ages 361 The bone..he had filled with the wax of an Easter-taper, and with incense. 1937 D. G. Spicer Bk. Festivals 279 In case of thunder, lighting the Easter taper..is said to avert harm from the house. 2005 Portage (Manitoba) Daily Graphic (Nexis) 19 Mar. 12 We light our Easter tapers from the Christ candle. Easter time n. = Eastertide n. ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > liturgical year > feast, festival > specific Christian festivals > Holy Week > [noun] > Sunday in > season in EastertideOE Easter timea1387 pasch-tidea1400 Paschaltide1876 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 189 (MED) For to holde ariȝt þe Ester tyme þre rules beeþ nedeful to knowe. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2023 (MED) Yn lentyn tyme of fastyng Shalt þou leue to do swyche þyng; yn estyr tyme also y forbede Þat þou haunte any swyche dede. 1568 L. Vaux Catechisme f. 90 Euery Christian man and woman..at euery Easter time to receiue [the Sacrament]. 1623 J. Abbot Iesus Præfigured ii. 47 At Easter time you joye to see your Board, (As was the Israelites) with a Lambe stord. 1748 A. Bower Hist. Popes I. 234 At Easter, and during the Pentecost of that Festival, meaning, in all likelihood, all Easter time. 1849 M. Arnold Strayed Reveller, & Other Poems 104 'Twill be Easter-time in the world. 1976 M. Apple Oranging of Amer. 65 They used to come together every year at Easter time. 2007 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 16 Mar. (What's Up section) 30 The rice tart is a seasonal specialty, usually offered around Easter time. Easter week n. the week beginning with Easter Day. ΚΠ OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) xx. 11 (rubric) Ðis godspel gebirað on þunresdæg innan þære easterucan. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 6062 (MED) Þe saterday þe ester wouke þis holy man hii slowe. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 439 (MED) Þis ȝere deyde Hughe abbot of Cluny, in þe Ester wyke. 1455 in Trans. Bristol & Gloucs. Archaeol. Soc. 1890–1 (1891) 15 147 The service of the Tuesday yn the Estur weke. 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Celebr. Holye Communion f. lx Tuisdaye in Easter weke. a1670 S. Collins Present State Russia (1671) 18 In the Easter week all his Majesties Servants and Nobility kiss the Patriarchs Hand, and receive either gilded, or red Eggs. 1791 J. Woodforde Diary 22 Apr. (1927) III. 267 He had an inclination to go with us to a Play at Norwich in the Easter Week. 1884 W. E. Addis & T. Arnold Catholic Dict. 285/1 Down to the twelfth century each day in Easter week was a holiday of obligation. 1938 Times 29 Apr. 12/5 St. George's Day has the disadvantage of again and again..falling in Easter Week. 2003 Oxoniensia 67 34 He held a hiring fair..on the Tuesday of Easter week. Easter weekend n. the weekend on which Easter falls; often applied to the entire four-day period from Good Friday to Easter Monday. ΚΠ 1894 Nat. Sci. Apr. 320 We are organising a..dredging expedition for Easter week-end. 1973 N.Y. Mag. 30 June 49/2 Then the Communist offensive came—not at Tet, as feared—but on Easter weekend. 2007 Voice 16 Apr. 10/5 We've all just enjoyed the four-day Easter weekend, but some people think they have a right to use ‘sickies’ to take long weekends or extend holidays as they please. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † eastern.² Forms: late Middle English astere, late Middle English ayster, 1500s astyre; English regional 1600s–1700s easter (northern), 1800s aster (north-west midlands), 1800s aister (north-west midlands), 1800s aistre (north-west midlands), 1800s ester (midlands). Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French heyster, aistre, estre, astre. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman heyster and Middle French aistre, aystre, estre, variants of astre astre n. The forms at the present entry apparently reflect forms with Middle English ā or ai in the first syllable, although some spelling forms are ambiguous. Obsolete (in later use English regional (northern and midlands)). A hearth; the back of a chimney or fireplace. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > hearth or fireplace hearthOE chimneya1330 easter1459 hearthsteada1500 smoke1605 fireplace1611 hearthing1612 focus1638 fire nook1683 firebox1825 1459 in Proc. Somerset Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc. (1878) 23 55 (MED) Et solutis Alicie Warderober pro j Astere stone pro teno. 1477 in Proc. Somerset Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc. (1878) 23 77 (MED) Et J. Smyth mason operanti in tasco ad faciendum j penstone de nova et remeneryng jus ayster teno. 1541 Schole House of Women sig. C.ii^v Bad [her] take the potte,..set it aboue, vpon the astyre. 1673 J. Ray N. Countrey Words in Coll. Eng. Words 16 Easter, the back of the chimney or chimney stock. 1848 A. B. Evans Leicestershire Words Ester, back of the fire-place. ‘My hay..is as black as the Ester.’ 1885 Archæol. Cambrensis 5th Ser. 2 21/1 Ester, the inside of the chimney. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online June 2021). easteradj. Brit. /ˈiːstə/, U.S. /ˈistər/, Scottish English /ˈistər/ Forms: Old English eastera (weak declension, masculine), Old English eastra (weak declension, masculine), Old English estre (in a Middle English copy), Old English yester (in a Middle English copy), Middle English–1600s ester, 1500s–1600s (1800s– regional) easter; Scottish pre-1700 eistar, pre-1700 eister, pre-1700 eistir, pre-1700 eistyr, pre-1700 ester, pre-1700 estir, pre-1700 estre, pre-1700 estyr, pre-1700 eyster, pre-1700 1700s– easter, 1800s aester (Shetland). Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian āstera , āstra , ēstra , āster , ōster eastern, Middle Dutch ooster situated in the east (compare Old Dutch ōster-halva east side), Old Saxon ōstaro situated in the east (Middle Low German ōster situated in the east, from the east), Old High German ōstar eastern (Middle High German ōster ), showing a formation ultimately < the same base as east adv. with different suffixation; compare adverb and noun forms with final -r cited at east adv., adj., and n.¹ Compare norther adj., souther adj., wester adj. Compare easterly adv., eastermost adj., easterboard n.In Old English attested only in weak forms (ēast(e)ra , masculine, ēast(e)re , feminine and neuter), with the ending probably reanalysed as the comparative -er suffix³. This word, together with ēasterne eastern adj. (in origin a derivative from the same Germanic base), is the usual adjective for ‘eastern’ in Old English (Old English ēast is only attested as an adverb and as the first element of compounds); in later use largely superseded by eastern adj. and east adj. (compare discussion at east adv., adj., and n.¹). Compare also post-classical Latin Alduulfus rex Estranglorum (Bede Historia Ecclesiastica 4. 17) (the corresponding passage in the Old English translation has Ealdulfe Eastengla cyninge). Also attested early in place names, as Eastorege (also Easterege, Eosterge), Kent, lit. ‘eastern district’ (first half of the 9th cent.; now Eastry; for an exact continental parallel compare the Dutch place name Oostergoo), Estereie, Cambridgeshire, lit. ‘eastern island’ (12th cent. in a recension of a charter of c1020; now Eastrea), Esterhathou, Roxburghshire (late 12th cent.; now lost), Estergate, Sussex (1263; now Eastergate). Very common in place names in Scotland and Newfoundland. regional in later use. Lying towards or nearest the east; eastern. Frequently in place names (esp. in Scotland and Newfoundland). ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > direction > cardinal points > East > [adjective] eastereOE easteOE eastwardeOE easterlyOE eastenlOE easterna1398 orientalc1425 orient?c1450 Levant1601 easternly?a1606 eastwardlya1613 Levantine1649 Eoan1820 eastwards1838 eOE Estate Boundaries, Nunnaminster, Winchester in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1887) II. 305 Þonan up andlanges þæs eastran mylengeares þæt norð on þa ceapstræt. OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 269 eoę [tripertitas Indiae provincias] : i. orientis, þara eastran, eoe, þære eastan. lOE Bounds (Sawyer 412) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1887) II. 357 West andlang weges to þære easteran dic. 1358 in D. Macpherson et al. Rotuli Scotiae (1814) I. 819/1 De villa de Estre Softlawe & officio serjantie de Estre warde in Tevydale. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 257 Boemya is þe firste prouince of þat ester [?a1475 anon tr. esturne] Germania. 1472 Extracts Rec. in W. Chambers Charters Burgh Peebles (1872) 169 Fra the march dik est with al the laf of the ester hyl. 1582 in J. D. Marwick Rec. Convent. Royal Burghs Scotl. (1870) I. 140 Ilk serpleth gudes to Danskyne and the eistar seais to be estimatt be the tun. 1591 J. Harington tr. L. Ariosto Orlando Furioso xxiii. vi. 177 The dawning brake, and all the Easter parts were full of light. c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 29 James Colvillis sone [was restoirit] to his landis of eister Weymes. 1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea xxxii. 77 This bay is all sandie, and cleane ground on the Easter part. 1662 in C. S. Romanes Sel. Rec. Regality of Melrose (1917) II. 10 Andro to deliver to the said William his eister incraft butt. 1708 London Gaz. No. 4430/4 The Town of Anstruther-Easter. 1745 Caledonian Mercury 21 Oct. Two suspicious like Fellows were..seen peeping over the Easter-wall of the Park. 1753 A. Nicol Rural Muse 114 And easter shades now usher in the night. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality x, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 237 He's keeping guard o'er Milnwood in the easter round of the tower. 1891 R. P. Chope Dial. Hartland, Devonshire Easter, eastern... Fields are frequently distinguished as Easter and Wester. 1898 Shetland News 10 Sept. Shü's apo' wir aester-side. 1963 N.E. Scotl. 91 Easter or Wester, Nether, Mid or Upper are common all over the region. 1964 in Dict. Newfoundland Eng. (1982) 161/2 Th' easter side an' the wester side was blocked off by a cliff. 2007 S. Blackhall Quarry i. 2 Aa the wye doon frae the easter lip o the quarry-hole, rivin it like a hare-lip, wis a roch roadie. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). easterv.¹ Brit. /ˈiːstə/, U.S. /ˈistər/ Origin: Probably formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: easter adj. Etymology: Probably < easter adj.; perhaps compare -er suffix³. Compare wester v., souther v., norther v. Compare later east v. intransitive. To turn or move to the east; (of the wind) to change to a more easterly direction. ΚΠ 1615 T. Roe Jrnl. 5 June in Embassy to Court of Great Mogul (1899) I. 7 They loose in Easteringe by the advantage of the lardgnes of the generall wyndes sometymes 200 or 300 leauges. 1668 T. Allin Jrnl. 18 Mar. (1940) (modernized text) II. 16 We plyed in and off..the wind eastering a point. 1827 Louisiana Advertiser 15 Nov. The ship now beginning to lie up along the land, (from the wind eastering). 1873 Hunt's Yachting Mag. Mar. 152 Soon a light air sprang up from the north, which gradually eastered and increased to a good breeze. 1902 J. H. Yoxall Rommany Stone xxvi. 276 The yeoman watched that line of shadow stretch and veer; slowly it eastered. 1996 S. Heaney Spirit Level 24 Across and across and across. Westering, eastering, the jumbo a school bus. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). Easterv.² Brit. /ˈiːstə/, U.S. /ˈistər/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: Easter n.¹ Etymology: < Easter n.¹ Compare earlier Eastering n.¹Compare Old English ge-ēastrod , past participle of an otherwise unattested verb ēastrian (or ge-ēastrian ) (of a day in Eastertide) to elapse after Easter Day ( < Easter n.¹; compare y- prefix):OE Homily: Sunnandæges Spell (Corpus Cambr. 419) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 208 We forbeodað ordal and aðas..fram septuagesima, oð fiftene niht beon geeastrode. intransitive. To celebrate Easter; to pass or spend the Easter holiday somewhere. ΚΠ 1854 A. De Morgan Let. 18 Apr. in R. P. Graves Life Sir W. R. Hamilton (1889) III. 477 I hope you are Eastering to your satisfaction, without any qualms from the name of the feast. 1894 M. E. Braddon Christmas Hirelings 20 Mr. Danby never omitted his annual visits to Penlyon Place. He Christmassed there, and he Eastered there. 1929 Atlanta Constit. 1 Apr. 9/5 Everybody, generally, was out Eastering by at least 11 o'clock. 1968 Times 8 Apr. 16/4 (advt.) Eastering in town? Treat them to a superb lunch or dinner on board the Restaurant-ship Hispaniola. 1999 Salt Lake Tribune (Nexis) 4 Apr. c2 This is the first time in years that I won't be Eastering in the San Rafael. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹eOEn.²1459adj.eOEv.¹1615v.²1854
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Eastern.1

Compounds

† eastern.2

easteradj.

easterv.1

Easterv.2

Eastern.¹

† eastern.²

easterv.¹

Easterv.²