Easter

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) A Christian feast commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday (and Monday) following the full moon that occurs on or next after the vernal equinox, ranging in most of Western Christianity (such as Protestantism and Roman Catholicism) from March 22 to April 25, and in Eastern Christianity (such as the Coptic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church) from April 4 to May 8.
2. (countable, uncountable) Eastertide (“the period from Easter to Whitsun”).
3. (countable, dated, figuratively, specifically, uncountable) Usually preceded by an inflection of make: the act of receiving the Eucharist during Easter.
4. (Ireland, UK, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable) Ellipsis of Easter term.
5. (countable, uncountable) A festival held in honour of the goddess Eostre or Ostara, celebrated at the vernal equinox or within the month of April; Eostre, Ostara.
6. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) The Jewish Passover.

Name

A surname.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To celebrate Easter.
2. (intransitive) To spend the Easter season in some place.

Synonyms

Passover

Pasch

Pesach

Eastertide

Easter Day

Pascha

after

Pesah

Christmas

Easter Sunday

paschal

Translations

Pâques

Ostern

Pasqua

Páscoa

Pasen

Pascua

Pasqua

Πάσχα

pascua

Paasfeest

Paskalya

Pascha

عيد الفصح

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈiːstə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: Ester

Inherited from Old English: ēastre

Cognate with Old High German: ōstarūn

Cognate with German: Ostern

In summary

The noun is derived from Middle English Ester, from Old English ēastre, seemingly from Ēastre, a proposed Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn whose festival is thought to have been celebrated around the vernal equinox. Further from Proto-West Germanic *Austrā, from Proto-Germanic *Austrǭ, derived from either Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“dawn; east”) or, more semantically plausible, from *austrą, *auzrą, a metathesized form of *wazrą (“spring (season)”), *-ǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *wósr̥ (“spring”).
The English word is cognate with German Low German Oostern (“Easter”), Old High German ōstarūn (modern German Ostern) and is possibly a doublet of east. Despite a modern folk etymology, not related to Ishtar.
The verb is derived from the noun.