Ash Wednesday
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
- Ashwednesday, Ash-Wednesday
Etymology
From Middle English Aschewednysday, Axwednesdai, from asshe, axe (“ash”) + Wednesdai, Wednysday (“Wednesday”), from the custom of using the blessed ashes of the previous year's palm fronds (cf. Palm Sunday) to mark the heads of the congregation on the day. By surface analysis, ash + Wednesday.
Noun
Ash Wednesday (plural Ash Wednesdays)
- (Christianity) The Wednesday 46 days before Easter in a given year, (Catholicism) traditionally observed as the beginning of Lent and a day of strict abstention from certain foods and pleasures.
- 1834, Penny Cyclopaedia, volume II, page 454:
- Pope Gregory the Great introduced the sprinkling of ashes... which gave it the name of Ash-Wednesday.
- (cocktail) A cocktail made from a mix of gin, heavy cream, honey syrup, and blackberries
Derived terms
Translations
the Christian day of penitence 46 days before Easter
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References
- “asshe-wednesdai, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2018.
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