geoldæg

Old English

Alternative forms

• ġeohheldæġ, ġeohheldæiġ, ġeoheldæiġ

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *jehwladagaz. Cognate with Old Norse jóladagr. Equivalent to ġēol +‎ dæġ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈje͜oːlˌdæj/ (original)
• IPA^(key): /ˈjuːlˌdæj/, /ˈjoːlˌdæj/ (Norse influence)

Noun

ġēoldæġ or ġeōldæġ m

1. a day of Christmas
2. Christmas Day

Usage notes

• Sense 2 is unattested in Old English, but it probably existed, since it appears early in Middle English (Ormulum: þe þrittende daʒ fra Ʒoldaʒ = *Sē þrēottēoða dæġ fram ġēoldæġe, "the 13th day from Christmas") and Old Norse jóladagr has both meanings.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	ġēoldæġ	ġēoldagas
accusative	ġēoldæġ	ġēoldagas
genitive	ġēoldæġes	ġēoldaga
dative	ġēoldæġe	ġēoldagum

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	ġeōldæġ	ġeōldagas
accusative	ġeōldæġ	ġeōldagas
genitive	ġeōldæġes	ġeōldaga
dative	ġeōldæġe	ġeōldagum

Synonyms

• Cristes mæssedæġ
• middes wintres mæssedæġ

Descendants

• Middle English: Yōl day