Michaelmas

//ˈmɪkəlməs// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    honoring the archangel Michael; a quarter day in England, Wales, and Ireland wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A Christian feast celebrated on the 29th of September in honour of the archangel Michael.

    "To make Capons […] [S]ome for this Purpoſe make it their Buſineſs after Harveſt-time to go to Markets for buying up Chickens, and between Michaelmas and All-hollantide caponize the Cocks, when they have got large enough to have Stones [i.e., testes] of ſuch a Bigneſs that they may be pulled out; for if they are too little, it can't be done; […]"

  2. 2
    Ellipsis of Michaelmas term. Ireland, UK, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Synonyms

All synonyms
adventash wednesdaycarnivalchristmascorpus christieaster

Example

More examples

"So it came to pass that one Michaelmas this Hugo, with five or six of his idle and wicked companions, stole down upon the farm and carried off the maiden, her father and brothers being from home, as he well knew."

Etymology

From Middle English Michelmasse, Myghelmesse; equivalent to Michael + -mas.

Related phrases

Michaelmas blackbirdMichaelmas daisyMichaelmas termOld Michaelmas Daymichaelmas term

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.