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:
“There be none of beauty’s daughters
With a magic like thee;
And like music on the waters
Is thy sweet voice to me:”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“The same things change their names at such a rate;
For instance—passion in a lover’s glorious,
But in a husband is pronounced uxorious.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Wives in their husbands’ absences grow subtler,
And daughters sometimes run off with the butler.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)