Definition

1. Noun:

   • A festive drink: A traditional hot punch made with ale or wine, sweetened, spiced, and often containing roasted apples, historically consumed during celebrations, especially Christmas.
   • A toast or salutation: The act of drinking someone's health or a festive occasion involving such drinking.

2. Verb:

   • To toast or drink to the health of: To express good wishes for someone's health and happiness while drinking.
   • To engage in festive revelry: To celebrate boisterously, often with much drinking and merrymaking.

Examples

• Noun:

  • The large bowl of wassail filled the room with the scent of cinnamon and apples.
  • They raised their glasses in a hearty wassail to their host.

• Verb:

  • The guests gathered to wassail the newlyweds.
  • The villagers would wassail through the streets during the old winter festival.

Advanced Usage

• "To go wassailing": Refers to the old English custom, especially around Christmas, of going from house to house, singing carols, and wishing good health, often in exchange for a drink of wassail or other refreshments.
  • On Christmas Eve, the choir will go wassailing in the neighborhood.

Variants and Related Words

• Wassailer (n): A person who goes wassailing or engages in festive drinking.
  • The wassailers sang loudly outside the manor.

Synonyms

• Noun (drink): Punch, mulled wine, posset.
• Verb (toast): Toast, drink (to), pledge.
• Verb (revel): Carouse, revel, make merry, celebrate.

Related Phrases

• Wassail bowl: The bowl from which the wassail drink is served.
  • The wassail bowl was passed around so everyone could take a sip.

Related Idioms

• "Here's to you!": A common modern equivalent of a wassail toast.
  • He raised his glass and said, "Here's to you!"

Noun

1. a punch made of sweetened ale or wine heated with spices and roasted apples; especially at Christmas

Verb

1. propose a toast to
   • Let us toast the birthday girl!
   • Let's drink to the New Year
2. celebrate noisily, often indulging in drinking; engage in uproarious festivities
   • The members of the wedding party made merry all night
   • Let's whoop it up--the boss is gone!