Ash Wednesday
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English Aschewednysday, Axwednesdai, from asshe, axe (“ash”) + Wednesdai, Wednysday (“Wednesday”), from the custom of using the blessed ashes of the previous year's palm fronds (cf. Palm Sunday) to mark the heads of the congregation on the day.
Noun[edit]
Ash Wednesday (plural Ash Wednesdays)
- (Christianity) The Wednesday 46 days before Easter in a given year, (Catholicism) traditionally observed as the beginning of Lent and a day of strict abstention from certain foods and pleasures.
- 1834, Penny Cyclopaedia, volume II, page 454:
- Pope Gregory the Great introduced the sprinkling of ashes... which gave it the name of Ash-Wednesday.
- (cocktail) A cocktail made from a mix of gin, heavy cream, honey syrup, and blackberries
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
the Christian day of penitence 46 days before Easter
References[edit]
- “asshe-wednesdai, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2018.