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".
Noel may also refer to:
Read more about Noel: Places, Music, Fiction, Other Uses
Famous quotes containing the word noel:
“Sighing that Nature formed but one such man,
And broke the die.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad. As to that regular, uninterrupted love of writing ... I do not understand it. I feel it as a torture, which I must get rid of, but never as a pleasure. On the contrary, I think composition a great pain.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)