noel
n. C / Un. a word for Christmas, often used in songs and cards. It comes from an old French word for the holiday.
n. the festival of Christmas, or a traditional Christmas carol. Borrowed from the French 'noël', it is primarily used in literary, poetic, or liturgical contexts.
The choir sang a beautiful noel during the service.
The shop window was decorated with gold letters wishing everyone a joyous noel.
While modern celebrations often focus on the secular aspects of the season, the term noel evokes a more traditional, almost medieval atmosphere of winter celebration.
From Middle English Nowel, borrowed from Old French Noel (“Christmas”), from Latin nātālis [diēs Dominī] (“birth[day of the Lord]”). Doublet of natal and Natal.
* (names): From Noel in the sense of Christmas; given since Middle Ages to children born at Christmastide. * (city in Missouri): Named for brothers Clark Wallace and William Jasper Noel, stockmen and owners of a sawmill. * (community of Nova Scotia, Canada): Named after its most prominent resident, Noël Doiron.
Often capitalised as 'Noel' when referring to the holiday itself; frequently appears in the titles of traditional carols.