May Day
May Day
noun
the first day of May, long celebrated with various festivities, as the crowning of the May queen, dancing around the Maypole, and, in recent years, often marked by labor parades and political demonstrations.
Origin:
1225–75; Middle English
1225–75; Middle English
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To may day
00:10
May day
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
Mayday (ˈmeɪˌdeɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| the international radiotelephone distress signal | |
| [C20: phonetic spelling of French m'aidez help me] | |
| May Day | |
| —n | |
| a. the first day of May, traditionally a celebration of the coming of spring: in some countries now observed as a holiday in honour of workers | |
| b. (as modifier): May-Day celebrations | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
May Day
"first of May," mid-15c.. Accounts of merrymaking on this date are attested from mid-13c. Synonymous with "communist procession" from at least 1906. The May Queen seems to be a Victorian re-invented tradition.
mayday
"distress call," 1927, from Fr. m'aider, shortening of venez m'aider "come help me!"
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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