Cristes mæsse
Old English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- Χp̃es mæssa — abbreviation (equivalent to Modern English Xmas)
- Cristesmæsse
Etymology
[edit]Crist (“Christ”) + -es (possessive marker) + mæsse (“a mass (celebration of the Eucharist)”)
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]Usage notes
[edit]According to the OED, the /i/ vowel on the first syllable of this word may originally have been a long i (/iː/), which would later become a short vowel as part of a shortening change that befell three of its syllables in late Old English.[1]
Declension
[edit]Weak n-stem:
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Cristes mæsse | — |
| accusative | Cristes mæssan | — |
| genitive | Cristes mæssan | — |
| dative | Cristes mæssan | — |
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]- Middle English: Cristemasse, Cristesmessa, Xp̄es mæssa, Cristemesse, Crystemasse, krystmasse, Crystemesse, Cristynmesse, Cristesmasse, Cristmes
- English: Christmas (see there for further descendants)
- Scots: Christenmas
References
[edit]- ^ “Christmas, n. & int..”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2025. (Notes section)
Categories:
- Old English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *meyth₂-
- Old English compound terms
- Old English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- (change)
- Old English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰer- (rub)
- Old English terms suffixed with -es
- Old English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʰrey-
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English lemmas
- Old English nouns
- Old English multiword terms
- Old English feminine nouns
- ang:Christmas
- Old English feminine n-stem nouns