holiday.
A day on which a religious event or secular celebration is traditionally observed.
Meaning & usage
A day on which a religious event or secular celebration is traditionally observed.
Today is a Wiccan holiday!
A day declared free from work by the state or government.
A period of one or more days taken off work for leisure and often travel; often plural.
How much holiday are you allowed?
A period during which pupils do not attend their school; often plural; rarely used for students at university (usually: vacation).
I want to take a French course this summer holiday.
A period during which, by agreement, the usual payments are not made.
a mortgage payment holiday
A gap in coverage, e.g. of paint on a surface, or sonar imagery.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos Proto-Germanic *hailaz Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-Germanic *hailagaz Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-? Proto-Germanic *dagaz Proto-Germanic *hailagadagaz Old English hāliġdæġ Middle English halyday English holiday From Middle English halyday, holyday, halidei, haliȝdei, from Old English hāliġdæġ (“holy day, Sabbath”), equivalent to holy + day. Compare West Frisian hjeldei (“holiday”), Danish helligdag (“holiday”), Norwegian helligdag (“holiday”), Swedish helgdag (“holiday, feast”).
To take a period of time away from work or study.
To spend a period of time in recreational travel.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ilos Proto-Germanic *hailaz Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-Germanic *hailagaz Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-? Proto-Germanic *dagaz Proto-Germanic *hailagadagaz Old English hāliġdæġ Middle English halyday English holiday From Middle English halyday, holyday, halidei, haliȝdei, from Old English hāliġdæġ (“holy day, Sabbath”), equivalent to holy + day. Compare West Frisian hjeldei (“holiday”), Danish helligdag (“holiday”), Norwegian helligdag (“holiday”), Swedish helgdag (“holiday, feast”).
Try it on your idea.
holiday has 7 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.