Meanings
plural Halloweens · alternative Hallowe'en · alternative archaic Halloweven
- The eve of All Hallows' Day; October 31st; celebrated (mostly in English-speaking countries) by children going door-to-door in costume and soliciting candy with menaces.
They all get dressed up in scary costumes at Halloween.
1 more example
1987, Kai Hansen, "Halloween", Helloween, Keeper Of The Seven Keys: Part 1. Black is the night full of fright / You'll be missing the day / What will be here very soon / Changing your way / A knock at your door / It is real or is it a dream / On trembling legs you open the door / And you scream... on Halloween
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe evening before All Saints' Day; often devoted to pranks played by young people
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From a Scots shortening of Allhalloweven, from Allhallowmas (the obsolete earlier name of All Saints' Day) + even (an archaic or poetic variant of eve; see also een). For the American pronunciation with /ɑ/, compare the Southern English traditional dialect pronunciations fallow /ˈfɒ.lə/ and tallow /ˈtɒ.lə/.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Allerheilige-aand, Halloween
- Allerheilige-aandOctober 31st
- HalloweenOctober 31st
Arabic هَالُوِين, عِيدُ جَمِيعِ القِدِّيسِين
- هَالُوِين (hāluwīn)October 31st
- عِيدُ جَمِيعِ القِدِّيسِين (ʕīdu jamīʕi l-qiddīsīn)October 31st
Basque Gau Beltza
- Gau BeltzaOctober 31st
Bengali হ্যালোউইন, হ্যালোইন
- হ্যালোউইন (hêlōuin)October 31st
- হ্যালোইন (hêlōin)October 31st
Bulgarian Хе́лоуин
- Хе́лоуин (Hélouin)October 31st
Catalan dia de vigília de Tots Sants
- dia de vigília de Tots SantsOctober 31st
Chinese Cantonese 萬聖節 /万圣节, 萬聖夜 /万圣夜
- 萬聖節 /万圣节 (maan⁶ sing³ zit³)October 31st
- 萬聖夜 /万圣夜October 31st
- 萬聖節前夕 /万圣节前夕 (maan⁶ sing³ zit³ cin⁴ zik⁶)October 31st
Chinese Mandarin 萬聖夜 /万圣夜, 萬聖節 /万圣节
- 萬聖夜 /万圣夜 (wànshèngyè)October 31st
- 萬聖節 /万圣节 (Wànshèngjié)October 31st
- 萬聖節前夕 /万圣节前夕 (Wànshèngjié qiánxī, Wànshèngjié qiánxí)October 31st
Czech Halloween
- HalloweenOctober 31st
Danish allehelgensaften
- allehelgensaftenOctober 31st
Dutch allerheiligenavond, Halloween
- allerheiligenavondOctober 31st
- HalloweenOctober 31st
Esperanto Haloveno
- HalovenoOctober 31st
Finnish halloween
- halloweenOctober 31st
French Halloween
- HalloweenOctober 31st
German Halloween
- HalloweenOctober 31st
Greek Χάλοουϊν
- Χάλοουϊν (Cháloouïn)October 31st
Hawaiian Heleuī
- HeleuīOctober 31st
Hebrew לֵיל כָּל הַקְּדוֹשִׁים
- לֵיל כָּל הַקְּדוֹשִׁים (leil kol haqdoshím)October 31st
Hindi हैलोवीन
- हैलोवीन (hailovīn)October 31st
Hungarian halovín
- halovínOctober 31st
Icelandic hrekkjavaka
- hrekkjavakaOctober 31st
Irish Oíche Shamhna
- Oíche ShamhnaOctober 31st
Italian Halloween, vigilia di Ognissanti
- HalloweenOctober 31st
- vigilia di OgnissantiOctober 31st
Japanese ハロウィーン, ハロウィン
- ハロウィーン (Harowīn)October 31st
- ハロウィン (Harowin)October 31st
Korean 할로윈
- 할로윈 (Hallowin)October 31st
Latin Pervigilium Omnium Sanctorum
- Pervigilium Omnium SanctorumOctober 31st
Latvian Halovīns
- HalovīnsOctober 31st
Lithuanian Helovinas, Helovynas
- HelovinasOctober 31st
- HelovynasOctober 31st
- ŠiurpnaktisOctober 31st
Norwegian Bokmål allehelgensaften
- allehelgensaftenOctober 31st
Persian هالووین
- هالووین (hâluvin)October 31st
Polish Halloween
- HalloweenOctober 31st
Portuguese Dia das Bruxas, Halloween
- Dia das BruxasOctober 31st
- HalloweenOctober 31st
- RaloimOctober 31st
- Véspera de Todos os SantosOctober 31st
Punjabi ਹੈਲੋਵੀਨ
- ਹੈਲੋਵੀਨ (hailovīn)October 31st
Romanian Halloween
- HalloweenOctober 31st
Russian Хеллоуи́н, Халуви́н
- Хеллоуи́н (Xellouín)October 31st
- Халуви́н (Xaluvín)October 31st
- Хэллоуи́н (Xɛllouín)October 31st
- Халуи́н (Xaluín)October 31st
Scottish Gaelic Oidhche Shamhna
- Oidhche ShamhnaOctober 31st
Spanish Halloween, Noche de Brujas
- HalloweenOctober 31st
- Noche de BrujasOctober 31st
- jalogüinOctober 31st
Swedish halloween
- halloweenOctober 31st
Tamil ஆலோவீன்
- ஆலோவீன் (ālōvīṉ)October 31st
Thai ฮาโลวีน
- ฮาโลวีน (haa-loo-wiin)October 31st
Turkish Cadılar Bayramı
- Cadılar BayramıOctober 31st
Ukrainian Гелові́н, Хелові́н
- Гелові́н (Helovín)October 31st
- Хелові́н (Xelovín)October 31st
- Відьо́мська ніч (Vidʹómsʹka nič)October 31st
- Хеллові́н (Xellovín)October 31st
- Хеллоуїн (Xelloujin)October 31st
Urdu ہالووین
- ہالووین (hālovīn)October 31st
Vietnamese Halloween
- HalloweenOctober 31st
Welsh Nos Galan Gaeaf, Nos Glangaea
- Nos Galan GaeafOctober 31st
- Nos GlangaeaOctober 31st
Yiddish האַלאָווין
- האַלאָווין (halovin)October 31st
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Halloween
Cite this entry
Halloween. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Halloween
“Halloween.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Halloween. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Halloween,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Halloween.
Source: Halloween on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.