Whitsunday

Definition

The Sunday on which the feast or festival of Pentecost falls, seven weeks after Easter.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English Whitsonday, from whit (“white”) + Sonday (“Sunday”), from Old English hwīt sunnandæg, probably from the white clothes worn by newly baptized Christians as Pentecost was a traditional date of baptism in early medieval England. Doublet of White Sunday.

Example Sentences

• "Holonyms: Pentecost (season), Whitsun, Whitsuntide, Whit"
• "Jesus, ascended into Heav'n again/Bestow'd this won'drous Gift upon good Men/That various Nations, by his Spirit led,/All understood what Galileans said."
• "An older name for this day [Pentecost] is Whitsunday, or “white Sunday,” named for the white garments worn by the newly baptised."