Michaelmas

[ mik-uh l-muh s ]

/ ˈmɪk əl məs /

noun Chiefly British.

a festival celebrated on September 29 in honor of the archangel Michael.

Origin of Michaelmas

before 1150; Middle English Mighelmes; Old English (Sanct) Michaeles masse (St.) Michael's mass

Also called Michaelmas Day.

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

Examples from the Web for michaelmas

At Yarmouth, in 1579, two thousand are said to have died of the plague between May-day and Michaelmas.
A History of Epidemics in Britain (Volume I of II)|Charles Creighton
Cuckoo oats and Michaelmas hay, Will make the farmer run away.
Rhymes Old and New|M.E.S. Wright
One of the features of Michaelmas in Scotland was the concoction and cooking of a giant cake, bun, or bannock.
Archaic England|Harold Bayley
The three were to sit in the Council until Michaelmas, when they were to be superseded by other three, who should sit for a year.
Venice and its Story|Thomas Okey

Peter became uneasy, for he expected Paul to come at Michaelmas.
The German Lieutenant and Other Stories|August Strindberg

British Dictionary definitions for michaelmas

Michaelmas

/ (ˈmɪkəlməs) /

noun

Sept 29, the feast of St Michael the archangel; in England, Ireland, and Wales, one of the four quarter days

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 michaelmas

Michaelmas

early 12c., Sanct Micheles mæsse, the feast of St. Michael (Sept. 29, an English quarter-day), from Michael + mass (n.2). Goose is the day's traditional fare since at least 15c.