Wassail

Thursday 22^nd December 2016

Wassail - /ˈwɒs(ə)l/ - /ˈwɒseɪl/

Noun

1) [mass noun] Spiced ale or mulled wine drunk during celebrations for

Twelfth Night and Christmas Eve

1.1) Lively and noisy festivities involving the drinking of plentiful amounts of alcohol; revelry

Verb

1) Drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way

1.1) historical [with object] (in SW England) drink to (fruit trees, typically apple trees) in a custom intended to ensure a fruitful crop

2) Go from house to house at Christmas singing carols

Example sentences

Noun

‘A mighty bowl of wassail in which the apples were hissing and bubbling’

‘I arrived in Eastcheap, that ancient region of wit and wassail’

Verb

‘He feasted and wassailed with his warriors’

‘It is the custom, in the cider districts of Sussex, to wassail the apple trees’

‘Here we go a-wassailing’

Origin

Middle English wæs hæil ‘be in (good) health!’: from Old Norse ves heill (compare with hail). The drinking formula wassail (and the reply drinkhail ‘drink good health’) were probably introduced by Danish-speaking inhabitants of England, and then spread, so that by the 12th century the usage was considered by the Normans to be characteristic of Englishmen.

                                   

Thanks to: www.oxforddictionaries.com