Eid al-Adha

or Eid ul-Ad·ha, ʾId al-Ad·ha

[eed uh l-ahd-hah]

noun

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.

Origin of Eid al-Adha

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

Also called Great Festival.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018