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holiday

Pronunciation: /ˈhɒlɪˌdeɪ/

The English word “holiday” has 8 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A day on which a religious event or secular celebration is traditionally observed.
  2. A day declared free from work by the state or government.
  3. A period of one or more days taken off work for leisure and often travel; often plural.
  4. A period during which pupils do not attend their school; often plural; rarely used for students at university (usually: vacation).
  5. A period during which, by agreement, the usual payments are not made.
  6. A gap in coverage, e.g. of paint on a surface, or sonar imagery.

verb

  1. To take a period of time away from work or study.
  2. To spend a period of time in recreational travel.

Etymology

From Middle English halyday, holyday, halidei, haliȝdei, from Old English hāliġdæġ (“holy day, Sabbath”), equivalent to holy + day. Compare West Frisian hjeldei (“holiday”), Danish helligdag (“holiday”), Norwegian helligdag (“holiday”), Swedish helgdag (“holiday, feast”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.