Noel
Noel (also spelled Nowell or Noël) (nəʊˈɛl) is an alternative word for Christmas. It first entered the English language in the 14th century. The word comes from Middle English noel, which derives from the Old French word noël and its more common form naël. The English spelling "Noël" is taken directly from modern French, which also derives from the Old French. The ultimate Latin origin is the phrase nātālis (diēs), "(day) of birth".
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Famous quotes containing the word noel:
“Man’s pity for himself, or for his son,
Always premising that said son at college
Has not contracted much more debt than knowledge.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“I have a great mind to believe in Christianity for the mere pleasure of fancying I may be damned.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“An exile, saddest of all prisoners,
Who has the whole world for a dungeon strong,
Seas, mountains, and the horizon’s verge for bars.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)