Eostre

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A name referring to a goddess associated with the dawn and spring festivals in ancient Germanic paganism; a term linked to the origin of certain springtime celebrations and symbols of renewal; a historical figure whose worship is connected to early seasonal rites and the changing of the year
2. Refers to a deity believed to embody the essence of spring and rebirth in ancient northern European tradition; used to denote the root of some springtime rituals and symbols such as hares and eggs; a mythological personage invoked in the context of fertility and seasonal cycles
3. Denotes an ancient goddess venerated during the vernal equinox, representing dawn and fertility in early Germanic culture; connected with traditions celebrating the emergence of life after winter; a name often cited in discussions of pagan origins of spring holidays and customs

Etymology: The goddess's name survives mainly as a stand-in for a holiday. The only firm evidence for her is the Old English word "Ēostre" and the Old English "ēastre," which meant "Easter," and her name likely derives from a Germanic word for spring or the rising dawn, from a root meaning "east" or "dawn." Scholars trace this to Proto-Germanic "Austrǭ," meaning both springtime and the Easter festival, so the goddess and the feast share one ancestor. The name's most famous survival is in English, where "Easter" is the everyday word for the holiday, but the two forms are doublets: they descend from the same source yet entered the language by different routes. "Eostre" appears in Old English as a learned, Northumbrian variant of the West Saxon "ēastre," and modern scholars use it as a borrowed term for the goddess, not as a word people spoke. The Anglo-Saxon monk Bede is the only early writer to mention her, describing the month of April as named after her, which is the source of the claim.

Synonyms: Ostara, spring goddess