Holiday

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ/

Definitions

1. A period of time when people are not required to work or attend school, often celebrated for religious, cultural, or national reasons
2. A designated time of rest or recreation when individuals typically refrain from professional duties or educational responsibilities, often linked to certain cultural or religious observances
3. A specific duration marked by the suspension of work or study, commonly associated with celebrations and traditions stemming from various societies or religions

Etymology: The word began as a religious term. Old English "hāliġdæġ" meant "holy day," a day set apart for worship and rest, and it was built from "hālig" (holy) and "dæg" (day). Over the centuries the spelling wore down into Middle English "halyday" and "holyday," and the sense of a sacred festival gradually widened to cover any day off from ordinary work. The shift from religious observance to leisure is the most striking part of the story. A holy day once meant a day when work stopped because the church required it, so rest followed from devotion. When the sacred element faded, the rest remained, and the word kept the idea of a set-aside break from labour. Related forms in other Germanic languages preserve the same pattern: Danish and Norwegian "helligdag" and Swedish "helgdag" all combine a word for holy with a word for day.

Synonyms: vacation, break, holiday season, festival, observance

Antonyms: workday, weekday, labor, duty, responsibility