wassail
noun
a salutation wishing health to a person, used in England in early times when presenting a cup of drink or when drinking to the person.
wassailing
-
present participleof wassail.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Class A, 1st, A formal affair … with tennis; A wassailing we will go; Best of the Wurst, New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. ; 3rd, The Rescuers, Seguin Gazette-Enterprise.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 3, 2019
Peter McKintosh’s set has a sort of Vorticist pizazz, and I liked the sweet assemblage of wassailing mice that suggest the passage of the seasons.
From New York Times ● Jul. 28, 2017
The British tradition of wassailing in exchange for a bowl of hot mulled cider goes back centuries, as does eggnog.
From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2016
This is orchard wassailing, the far older custom of serenading apple trees in winter to wake the sleepy, scrumpy-producing spirits within.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 5, 2013
Give then to the king And queen, wassailing, And though with ale ye be wet here, Yet part ye from hence As free from offence As when ye innocent met here Robert Herrick.
From In The Yule-Log Glow—Book 3 Christmas Poems from 'round the World by Harrison S. (Harrison Smith) Morris
