wassail Hear it!

wassail definition

was·sail (wäs′əl, was′-; -āl′)

noun

  1. a salutation formerly given in drinking the health of a person, as at a festivity
  2. the spiced ale or other liquor with which such healths were drunk
  3. a celebration with much drinking, esp. at Christmastime; carousal

Etymology: ME, earlier wæs hæil < ON ves heill, lit., be hale, be hearty (replacing OE wes hal, lit., be whole)

intransitive verb

  1. to drink wassails
  2. Brit. to go caroling from house to house at Christmastime

transitive verb

to drink to the health or prosperity of

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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