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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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Examples of tiding in a Sentence
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
While the job outlook for electrical and computer engineers was not dire last year, the uptick in the economy brings even happier tidings for the class of 2011.
—IEEE Spectrum, 31 Aug. 2011
However, the strength of the United States was never based on smooth and gentle tidings.
—Wes Moss, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near tiding
Cite this Entry
“Tiding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiding. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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