Where does “Twixmas” come from?
Twixmas (English) comes from English Christmas, from Middle English Cristemasse, from Old English Cristes mæsse, from Old English mæsse, from Vulgar Latin messa, from Latin missa, from Latin missum, from Latin mittō — to hurt; to exchange, remove; to replace, to...
Twixmas (English): The period in between Christmas Day and New Year, typically December 27th–31st where Boxing Day is observed, and December 26th–31st elsewhere (i.e. the first six of the Twelve Days of Christmas)
Definitions
- The period in between Christmas Day and New Year, typically December 27th–31st where Boxing Day is observed, and December 26th–31st elsewhere (i.e. the first six of the Twelve Days of Christmas)
Ancestry of “Twixmas”, step by step
Twixmas traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Christmas
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Christmas | A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs including gift-giving, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 (Christmas Day) in most places |
| 2 | Middle English | Cristemasse | Christmas the 25th of December |
| 3 | Old English | Cristes mæsse | Christmas |
| 4 | Old English | mæsse | mass |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | messa | Eucharist, dismissal; Eucharist; dismissal;... |
| 6 | Latin | missa | Mass; Christian eucharistic liturgy; nominative... |
| 7 | Latin | missum | accusative supine of mittō; inflection of... |
| 8 | Latin | mittō | to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go, release, discharge |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | meitō | to put forth, put out |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | meyth₂- | to hurt; to exchange, remove; to replace, to... |
via English twixt
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | twixt | betwixt, between |