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".
Read more about Noel.
Famous quotes containing the word noel:
“she
Was married, charming, chaste, and twenty-three.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Society is now one polished horde,
Formed of two mighty tribes, the Bores and Bored.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“An exile, saddest of all prisoners,
Who has the whole world for a dungeon strong,
Seas, mountains, and the horizon’s verge for bars.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)