Whitsunday

[ hwit-suhn-dey, -dee, wit-; hwit-suhn-dey, wit- ]

/ ˈʰwɪtˈsʌn deɪ, -di, ˈwɪt-; ˈʰwɪt sənˌdeɪ, ˈwɪt- /

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noun

the seventh Sunday after Easter, celebrated as a festival in commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

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Origin of Whitsunday

before 1100; Middle English whitsonenday,Old English Hwīta Sunnandæg white Sunday; probably so called because the newly baptized wore white robes on that day

Words nearby Whitsunday

Whitmonday, Whitney, Whitney, Eli, whitrack, Whitsun, Whitsunday, Whitsuntide, Whittaker, whitter, Whittier, Whittington

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Whitsunday in a sentence

He threw the Perth bailies into prison, and required them, on pain of death, to pay up 54 of the King's Whitsunday rents.
King Robert the Bruce|A. F. Murison
Ay, come next Whitsunday, please God, the lords will know who are the real masters.
Robert Annys: Poor Priest|Annie Nathan Meyer
A Huguenot minister was discovered on Whitsunday, in an adjoining village, and brought to Cateau.
History of the Rise of the Huguenots|Henry Baird
On the Sunday following—it was Whitsunday—the resolution was published from the pulpits.
History of the Great Reformation, Volume IV|J. H. Merle D'Aubign

Then he departed from them and took his two cousins with him, and so they came unto Camelot by the hour of underne on Whitsunday.
Le Morte D'Arthur, Volume II (of II)|Thomas Malory

British Dictionary definitions for Whitsunday (1 of 2)

Whitsunday

/ (ˌhwɪtˈsʌndɪ, ˌwɪt-) /

noun

(in Scotland) May 15, one of the four quarter days

British Dictionary definitions for Whitsunday (2 of 2)

Whit Sunday

noun

the seventh Sunday after Easter, observed as a feast in commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles 50 days after EasterAlso called: Pentecost

Word Origin for Whit Sunday

Old English hwīta sunnandæg white Sunday, probably named after the ancient custom of wearing white robes at or after baptism

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