Lammas

[ lam-uh s ]

/ ˈlæm əs /

noun

a former festival in England, held on August 1, in which bread made from the first harvest of corn was blessed.

a festival (Feast of St. Peter's Chains) observed by Roman Catholics on August 1, in memory of St. Peter's imprisonment and his miraculous deliverance.

Origin of Lammas

before 900; Middle English Lammesse, Old English hlāmmæsse, hlāfmæsse. See loaf¹, Mass

Also called Lammas Day.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lammas

The weather had been abnormally dry, and there might after all be no Lammas floods.
The Mystery of the Sea|Bram Stoker
The Lammas rights of the parishioners, with respect to this land, are now extinct.
Chelsea|George Bryan
The season was harvest, and the Lammas floods had brought up the bull or sea trouts.
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 21|Alexander Leighton
"This beats the Lammas flood o' '68," said the landlord, as he led the way to supper.
The Story Of Kennett|Bayard Taylor

Grass-yrth may be the gafol for the share in the Lammas meadows, and the gafol-yrth for the arable in the yard-land.
The English Village Community|Frederic Seebohm

British Dictionary definitions for lammas

Lammas

/ (ˈlæməs) /

noun

RC Church Aug 1, held as a feast, commemorating St Peter's miraculous deliverance from prison

Also called: Lammas Day the same day formerly observed in England as a harvest festival. In Scotland Lammas is a quarter day

Word Origin for Lammas

Old English hlāfmæsse loaf mass

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

Word Origin and History for lammas

Lammas

Aug. 1 harvest festival with consecration of loaves, Old English hlafmæsse, literally "loaf mass," from hlaf (see loaf (n.)) + mæsse (see mass (n.2)). Altered by influence of lamb (and occasionally spelled lamb- in 16c.-17c.).