Holiday

Pronunciation

UK IPA: /ËˆhÉ’lÉªdeÉª/
US IPA: /ËˆhÉ‘lÉ™ËŒdeÉª/

Origin

From Middle English holiday, halidei, haliÈdei, from Old English hÄliÄ¡dÃ¦Ä¡ ("holy day, Sabbath"), equivalent to holy + day. Cognate with Danish helligdag ("holiday"), Swedish helgdag ("holiday, feast"), Norwegian helligdag ("holiday").

Full definition of holiday

Noun

holiday

(plural holidays)

A day on which a festival, religious event, or national celebration is traditionally observed.Today is a Wiccan holiday!
A day declared free from work by the government.
A period of one or more days taken off work by an employee for leisure.
A period during which pupils and students do not attend their school or university.
I want to take a French course this summer holiday.
A period taken off work or study for travel or leisure.belongs under "Derived terms": To go on holiday, (a) to take time off work or study, (b) to travel and stay somewhere during a period taken off work or study for purposes of leisure or relaxation.

1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 4, No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or.... And at last I began to realize in my harassed soul that all elusion was futile, and to take such holidays as I could get, when he was off with a girl, in a spirit of thankfulness.

An unintentional gap left on a plated, coated, or painted surface.Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/holiday (accessed: June 26, 2007).

Synonyms

(day on which a festival, etc, is traditionally observed): feast day (celebratory religious event)
(day declared free from work by the government): Bank Holiday UK, national holiday
(period of one or more days taken off work by an employee for leisure): leave, time off
(period taken off work or study for travel): vacation US