Good tidings we bring to you and your kin, goes a line from the popular 16th-century carol "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Another carol, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (1833), speaks of "tidings of comfort and joy." Although there is nothing inherent in the meaning or origin of "tiding" that specifically pertains to Christmas (it derives via Middle English from Old English and relates to betide, meaning "to happen especially by fate"), we most often see the word in contexts pertaining to the Christmas season. The most notable usage, perhaps, occurs in Luke 2:10 of the King James Bible, when the angel delivers the news of the arrival of the Savior: "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
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While some of those tidings are good, the market reacted with a collective raspberry.—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 19 Dec. 2024 This growing integration bears good tidings for your organization’s productivity.—Adam Gavish, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024 The new year brings good tidings for One Chicago fans.—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2024 Hundreds of years ago, a turkey on Thanksgiving might have represented abundance and good tidings — a too-rare thing in those days, and therefore something to be grateful for.—Marina Bolotnikova, Vox, 27 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tiding
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Old English tīdung, from tīdan to betide
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