Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
The first term of the legal year, running from October to December, during which the upper courts of England and Wales, and Ireland, sit to hear cases.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
The first academic term of the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, and other educational institutions, running from October to December; the term was modelled after the legal term, but does not begin and end on the same dates.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: education
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Michaelmas + term; Michaelmas is from Michael (“the name of the biblical archangel”) + -mas (suffix indicating a holiday or sacred day), meaning the feast day of St Michael. Michael is derived from Late Latin Michahel, from Koine Greek Μιχαήλ (Mikhaḗl), from Biblical Hebrew מִיכָאֵל (mîḵāʾēl, “who is like God?”); while -mas is from mass, from Middle English masse, from Old English mæsse (“mass (celebration of the Eucharist)”), from Vulgar Latin *messa (“Eucharist; dismissal”), from Late Latin missa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of Latin mittere, the present active infinitive of mittō (“to dispatch, send; to discharge, release; to dismiss”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *meyth2- (“to exchange”). The Christian feast day of Michaelmas, 29 September, occurs a few days before the start of this term.
Across languages
3 source translations are retained for this English entry.
