Etymology

yule

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Today it means: A proclamation of joy at Christmas. Full definition →

Middle English yol ← Old English ġeōl ← Proto-Germanic *jehwlą
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*jehwlą
  2. Old English · inherited fromġeōl“Christmas, Yule”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromyol
  4. English todayYule

From Middle English yol, youle, from Old English ġeōl (“Christmas, Yule”), either cognate with or from Old Norse jól, from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą. Cognate with Gothic 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 (jiuleis); see also Old English ġēola and Old Norse ýlir.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.