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:
“One certainly has a soul; but how it came to allow itself to be enclosed in a body is more than I can imagine. I only know if once mine gets out, I’ll have a bit of a tussle before I let it get in again to that of any other.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Milton’s the prince of poets—so we say;
A little heavy, but no less divine:
An independent being in his day—”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Shelley is truth itself—and honour itself—notwithstanding his out-of-the-way notions about religion.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)