homecomingn.
/ˈhəʊmˌkʌmɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈhoʊmˌkəmɪŋ/ 1. The action or an act of returning to one's home, household, or native land; an arrival at home.
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society > travel > aspects of travel > return > [noun] > going home > a homecoming
homecomeOE
homecomingc1405
nostos1910
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 47 What folk been ye þt at myn hom comynge Perturben so my feste with cryynge?
c1430 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1882) v. l. 503 Þat I may fynde at myn homcomyng, Crisseide comyn.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 426 Than was there made grete joy of hir home-commynge.
1537 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1871) II. 84 At oure souerane lordis and quenis graces hame cumming.
1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. L3v, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) Let them rest vntill my home comming.
1624–5 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1852) V. 100 For upputting of tapistrie about the croce..at hir Majesties hamecomeing.
1678 G. Hickes Ravillac Redivivus 45 Speak O People, and tell me what good the King hath done since his home-coming.
1736 J. M'Ure View City of Glasgow iii. 352 In my Home-coming..I conversed with several old Men.
1773 H. Mackenzie Man of World II. ii. ix. 74 The maid sat up to wait their home-coming.
1820 W. Scott Abbot I. iii. 67 First to welcome my home-coming.
1894 Daily News 12 Nov. 5/7 The homecoming of the Marquis of Hamilton and his bride to the ancestral home of the Abercorn family.
1926 Peel City Guardian 26 June 2/2 The Mayor of Douglas intends to do what he can..to promote a big home-coming of Manx people and their descendants for June of next year.
1997 A. Gordon Prairie Hardball ii. 11 True to her Supermum form, my mother had baked my favourite chocolate-chip cookies for my homecoming.
2. North American. Also with capital initial. (A name for) an organized reunion event, esp. an annual event for former (and current) students at a high school, college or university, typically featuring a football game or other sporting contest.
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society > leisure > social event > social gathering > [noun] > reunion
reunion1820
roundup1880
homecoming1902
1902 Memphis Med. Monthly July 337 I take great pride in adding..the cordial greeting of the physicians of Jackson to the Association collectively and individually, at its annual homecoming.
1907 Wisconsin Alumni Mag. Jan. 188 Wisconsin alumni are taking an active part in the preparation for a homecoming at Madison... The homecoming is planned for July 3, 4, and 5, 1907.
1930 Roane County Reporter (Spencer, W. Va.) 21 Aug. 1/7 Two former governors..have promised the committee in charge that they would attend the annual Roane county homecoming.
1973 Texas Monthly Dec. 102/3 40 close-cropped celebrants who all looked like they had gotten lost on the way to homecoming at Bob Jones University.
1993 Cornell Daily Sun 10 Mar. 4/3 At Homecoming, he's been seen tailgating to keep alumni spirits up.
2005 C. Goode Cupidity 192 It seemed that the entire school was in the throes of preparation for Homecoming.
Compounds
C1. attributive in sense 2, as homecoming dance, homecoming game, homecoming parade, etc.
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1907 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 3 July 5/5 Grand Homecoming Dance. Tonight. Colonial Hall.
1912 N.Y. Times 18 Oct. 12/2 Ten years ago this fall he was captain of the eleven. Stahl has returned every year since to assist in whipping the team into shape for the homecoming game.
1922 Scroll of Phi-Delta-Theta Feb. 276 At our homecoming banquet this fall, the chapter entertained sixty alumni who returned to see Lombard defeat their old rivals, Knox, in football.
1935 Chronicle-News (Trinidad, Colorado) 16 Oct. A ‘Homecoming Dance’ at the Trinidad high school will be held Saturday evening following the Trinidad-Salida football game.
1947 R. Allen Home Made Banners iii. 17 In the crowded beer parlors they tended to herd together, like old grads on the eve of a homecoming game.
1953 Billboard 11 July 54/4 The fair will be held as a homecoming event for former county residents.
1980 L. Birnbach et al. Official Preppy Handbk. 88/1 The Preppy is eager to behave just as moronically as the graduate..during Homecoming parades.
1990 Rolling Stone 22 Mar. 70/3 The team planned to hold its annual reunion during homecoming weekend.
2008 M. Walsh Bowling across Amer. 65 [He] opted for Lebowski Fest over his high school homecoming dance tonight.
C2.
homecoming king n. North American a man, esp. a male student, chosen or (more usually) elected to have honoured status at a homecoming.
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1930 Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 25 Oct. 3/4 His colorful regalia suited the requirements of a ‘homecoming king’.
1982 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 6 Mar. 1 a He was a drummer in the school band and homecoming king in 1967, and a continual clown.
2003 K. Slater & J. Borte Pipe Dreams (2004) v. 127 During my senior year, I was voted Best Looking and Homecoming King of my school.
homecoming queen n. North American a woman, esp. a female student, chosen or (more usually) elected to have honoured status at a homecoming.
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1915 Waterloo (Iowa) Courier 28 Sept. 9/4 In the afternoon there will be the crowning of the homecoming queen.
1976 N. Thornburg Cutter & Bone ii. 47 The victim..had been a cheerleader and homecoming queen candidate at Santa Barbara High School.
1988 D. French Working (1991) iii. 85 Not only did she get good grades, she was..the homecoming queen and she was voted ‘most likely to succeed’.
2003 Wall St. Jrnl. 10 Nov. r10/4 In high school, the cheerleaders, homecoming queens and football captains were the Platonic ideals against which the rest of us measured ourselves.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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also refers to : home-comingadj.
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