Noel
Noel (also spelled Nowell or Noël) (nəʊˈɛl) is an alternative word for Christmas. It first entered the English language in the 14th century. The word comes from Middle English noel, which derives from the Old French word noël and its more common form naël. The English spelling "Noël" is taken directly from modern French, which also derives from the Old French. The ultimate Latin origin is the phrase nātālis (diēs), "(day) of birth".
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Famous quotes containing the word noel:
“Still I can’t contradict, what so oft has been said,
“Though women are angels, yet wedlock’s the devil.””
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“If ever I should condescend to prose,
I’ll write poetical commandments, which
Shall supersede beyond all doubt all those
That went before; in these I shall enrich
My text with many things that no one knows,
And carry precept to the highest pitch:
I’ll call the work ‘Longinus o’er a Bottle,
Or, Every Poet his own Aristotle.’”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Anxious to publicise and pay our dues
Contracted here, we, Bernard Noel Hughes
And Philip Arthur Larkin, do desire
To requite and to reward those whom we choose;
To thank our friends, before our time expire,
And those whom, if not friends, we yet admire.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)