paschal lamb

American  

noun

1. Jewish History. a lamb slaughtered and eaten on the eve of the first day of Passover. Exodus 12:3–11.

2. (initial capital letters) Christ.

3. (initial capital letters) any of several symbolic representations of Christ, as the Agnus Dei.

4. Also called Holy Lamb.  (initial capital letters) a representation of a lamb passant having around its head a nimbus and supporting on the dexter shoulder a crosslike staff bearing a flag argent charged with a cross gules.

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Paschal Lamb British  

noun

1. (sometimes not capitals) Old Testament the lamb killed and eaten on the first day of the Passover

2. Christ regarded as this sacrifice

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Etymology

Origin of paschal lamb

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English

Example Sentences

Soon there will be strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, snow peas and watercress, the paschal lamb, the Easter ham.

From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2017

In a rough-hewn but softly hued departure from his other, often starker work, Baskin evokes many of the familiar Passover figures �the paschal lamb, Pharaoh, the plagues, and the prophet Elijah.

From Time Magazine Archive

While the two before mentioned were hacking the paschal lamb with rude anatomy, a third was occupied with the salad, consisting of cucumbers sliced, with green herbs, oil, and vinegar.

From From the Oak to the Olive A Plain record of a Pleasant Journey by Howe, Julia Ward

The lamb was called the paschal lamb, and was, after that, to be eaten every year, at about what is with us Easter-time, in commemoration of this event.

From Baltimore Catechism, No. 4 An Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism of Christian Doctrine by Kinkead, Thomas L.

The table is at St John of the Lateran at Rome; some bread made for that occasion at Salvatierra in Spain; and the knife with which the paschal lamb was carved is at Tréves.

From A Treatise on Relics by Calvin, John