Etymology

Christmastide

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Today it means: The Twelve Days of Christmas; the period from Christmas Day to Epiphany. Full definition →

English Christmas ← Middle English Cristemasse ← Old English Cristes mæsse
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*gʰer-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*gʰrey-
  3. Ancient Greekχρίω (khríō)
  4. Ancient Greekχρῑστός (khrīstós)
  5. Biblical Hebrewמָשִׁיחַ (mašīaḥ)
  6. Aramaicܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ (m'šīḥāʿ)
  7. Ancient GreekΧρῑστός (Khrīstós)
  8. LatinChrīstus
  9. Old EnglishCrist
  10. Proto-Indo-European*mey-?
  11. Proto-Indo-European*meyth₂-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*méyth₂eti
  13. Proto-Italic*meitō
  14. Old Latinmītō
  15. Latinmittō
  16. Latinmissiō
  17. Latinmissa
  18. Old Englishmæsse
  19. Old EnglishCristes mæsse
  20. Middle EnglishCristemasse
  21. EnglishChristmas
  22. English todayChristmastide

From Christmas + -tide (“period around a festival”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.