Eid al-Adha

Or Eid ul-Ad·ha,

[eed uhl-ahd-hah]

noun

1. a major festival of Islam, beginning on the tenth day of the last month of the calendar and lasting for four days, usually characterized by the sacrificing of a sheep, whose flesh is divided among relatives and friends in memory of the ransom of Ishmael with a ram.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Eid al-Adha¹

First recorded in 1730–40, Eid al-Adha is from Arabic ʿīd al-aḍḥā “festival of sacrifice”