a salutation wishing health to a person, used in England in early times when presenting a cup of drink or when drinking to the person.
a festivity or revel with drinking of healths.
liquor for drinking and wishing health to others on festive occasions, especially spiced ale, as on Christmas Eve and Twelfth-night.
Archaic. a song sung in wassailing.
verb (used without object)
to revel with drinking.
verb (used with object)
to drink to the health or success of; toast.
Origin of wassail
1175–1225;Middle Englishwas-hail, equivalent to was be (Old Englishwæs, variant of wes, imperative of wesan to be; akin to was) + hailhale1, in good health (< Old Norseheill hale); replacing Old Englishwæs hāl be hale or whole. See whole, heal
mid-12c., from Old Norse ves heill "be healthy," a salutation, from ves, imperative of vesa "to be" (see was) + heill "healthy" (see health). Use as a drinking phrase appears to have arisen among Danes in England and spread to native inhabitants. A similar formation appears in Old English wes þu hal, but this is not recorded as a drinking salutation. Sense extended c.1300 to "liquor in which healths were drunk," especially spiced ale used in Christmas Eve celebrations. Meaning "a carousal, reveling" first attested c.1600. Wassailing "custom of going caroling house to house at Christmas time" is recorded from 1742.
