Hogmanay

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The final day of the calendar year as celebrated in Scotland ; the festive celebrations and customary gifts that traditionally accompany the turn of the year
2. Scotland's name for New Year's Eve ; the merrymaking, visiting and small presents exchanged during that holiday season
3. The last day of December observed with particular custom in Scotland ; the festivities and traditional offerings given to friends and neighbours at the year's end

Etymology: Hogmanay is the Scots name for New Year's Eve, and its origin is one of those words where the trail runs from a Scottish festival back to a French phrase for the turning of the year. The most likely source is Old French "aguillanneuf", meaning "last day of the year", a term that appears to have been carried into Scotland through the close cultural and linguistic ties between the two realms in the medieval period. The Scots form is the one readers meet today, and it is the form that has settled into the Scottish calendar. The exact route from the French phrase to the Scots word is not fully documented, so the link rests on the strong resemblance in sense and shape rather than on a recorded chain of use. What is clear is that the word belongs to the Scots tradition of celebrating the last night of the year, with its customs of visiting neighbours and welcoming the new year in.

Synonyms: New Year's Eve, Old Year's Night