Beltane
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Beltane
1375–1425; late Middle English ( Scots ) < Scots Gaelic bealltainn, Old Irish bel ( l ) taine, perhaps equivalent to *bel- an obscure element, perhaps the name of a supernatural person + tene fire
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.
She crosses the video game’s Scottish Highlands on her journey to the coast in time for the Gaelic May Day festival Beltane, where her uncle, a lighthouse keeper, is waiting.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
Beltane festivities occured more recently than you may think—it was celebrated throughout the centuries until the late 1800s.
From Salon ● May 2, 2022
Scotland's capital city has hosted the Beltane Fire Festival since 1988.
From Salon ● May 2, 2022
A leathery dominatrix holding hands with a unicorn wished me, using the customary parlance, a happy Beltane.
From New York Times ● Aug. 6, 2015
To these were added the festivals of the solstitial invaders, Beltane at midsummer and Yule at midwinter; the movable festival of Easter was also added, but the equinoxes were never observed in Britain.
From The Witch-cult in Western Europe A Study in Anthropology by Margaret Alice Murray
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
