Yule
noun
Christmas, or the Christmas season.
Yule
American
[yool]
/ yul /
Also
yule
noun
-
Christmas, or the Christmas season.
-
an ancient Germanic pagan holiday centering around the winter solstice, now sometimes celebrated by neopagans.
yule
British
/ juːl /
noun
Usage
What does yule mean? The word yule can be used as another name for Christmas, the Christian holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus. However, yule can also refer to the celebration of the Winter Solstice that’s observed in some Pagan traditions. Like the word Christmas, yule can also be used to refer to the Christmas season—Christmastime. Another word for this is yuletide. When they’re used in reference to Christmas, the terms yule and yuletide are often intended to sound a bit old-timey—yuletide carols being sung by a choir, and all that. Example: I like to spend Yule sitting by the hearth, listening to tales of winters gone by.
Etymology
Origin of Yule
First recorded before 900; Middle English yole, Old English geōl, geol(a) “Christmas day, Christmastide”; cognate with Old Norse jōl, the name of the pagan winter feast lasting 12 days, later applied to Christmas; akin to Gothic jiuleis
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Consider the original Yule Logs, massive oak trunks that Vikings burned for the duration of the Midwinter solstice to rebuke the long darkness.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025
It has also been known as the Long Night Moon and the Moon before Yule.
From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025
Yule was also an instructor who taught at Juilliard, Columbia University and at HB Studio.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025
Daniel Yule, who won the race last year for the third time, lost his balance and the Swiss skier missed a gate in his second run.
From Washington Times • Dec. 22, 2023
Hilly’s watching her maid, Yule May, refill our tea glasses.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
