martinmas

Thân thiện

Martinmas marks the beginning of winter in the old calendar.

Definition

Noun: 1. A Christian feast day: Martinmas is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours, celebrated on November 11th. 2. A Scottish quarter day: In Scotland, Martinmas is one of the four traditional quarter days of the year, marking a date for the payment of rents and the hiring of servants.

Examples of Usage

• As a feast day:
  • The village church held a special service for Martinmas.
  • Traditions for Martinmas often include a feast with roast goose.
• As a quarter day:
  • The farmer's tenancy agreement stated that rent was due at Martinmas.
  • In historical Scotland, many laborers would seek new employment at Martinmas.

Advanced Usage

• "At Martinmas": Used to indicate the time period around this date.
  • The markets were always busy at Martinmas.
• "Martinmas summer": An archaic term referring to a period of warm, sunny weather in early November, similar to an Indian summer.
  • They enjoyed a brief Martinmas summer before the winter frosts set in.

Variants and Related Words

• St. Martin's Day: Another name for Martinmas.
• Martinmass (archaic): An older spelling variant.
• Quarter day: The general category to which Martinmas belongs in Scottish law and tradition. The other three are Candlemas (Feb 2), Whitsunday (May 15), and Lammas (Aug 1).

Synonyms

• Feast of Saint Martin
• St. Martin's Day

Related Phrases

• Martinmas beef: Historically, cattle slaughtered and salted at this time for winter provisions.
  • The family relied on Martinmas beef to last through the cold months.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the feast of Saint Martin; a quarter day in Scotland

Từ đồng nghĩa

• Martinmas
• St Martin's Day
• 11 November