Easter

[ ee-ster ]

noun
  1. an annual Christian festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, as calculated according to tables based in Western churches on the Gregorian calendar and in Orthodox churches on the Julian calendar.

  2. Also called Easter Sunday. the day on which this festival is celebrated.

  1. the Easter season; the week following Easter.

Origin of Easter

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English ester, Old English ēastre; cognate with German Ostern; originally the name of a goddess and her festival; akin to east

Other words from Easter

  • post-Easter, adjective
  • pre-Easter, noun

Words Nearby Easter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Easter in a sentence

  • The doctor had been spending Easter at Cannes, and the dowager had devoutly prayed that he might not yet return.

    Elster's Folly | Mrs. Henry Wood
  • The devotional reading of the story is a most natural and helpful observance of the Easter season.

    His Last Week | William E. Barton
  • That morning, it was the first Sunday after Easter, the Duchess rode out of the castle on her great sorrel horse, while on?

    Honey-Bee | Anatole France
  • I often console myself with thoughts of Easter, spring, and the summer holidays.

  • After the reform bill had been read a second time, the lords broke up for the Easter recess.

British Dictionary definitions for Easter

Easter

/ (ˈiːstə) /


noun
  1. the most important festival of the Christian Church, commemorating the Resurrection of Christ: falls on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox

  2. Also called: Easter Sunday, Easter Day the day on which this festival is celebrated

  1. the period between Good Friday and Easter Monday

Origin of Easter

1
Old English ēastre, after a Germanic goddess Eostre; related to Old High German ōstarūn Easter, Old Norse austr to the east, Old Slavonic ustru like summer

Other words from Easter

  • Related adjective: paschal

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Easter

Easter

An important religious festival among Christians (see also Christian); it commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus after his Crucifixion. Easter is celebrated on a Sunday in spring, and the season of Easter, a time of rejoicing, continues for several weeks. The penitential season of Lent is a time of preparation for Easter.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.