wassail

¹was·sail

noun \ˈwä-səl also wä-ˈsāl\

Definition of WASSAIL

1

: an early English toast to someone's health

2

: a hot drink that is made with wine, beer, or cider, spices, sugar, and usually baked apples and is traditionally served in a large bowl especially at Christmastime

3

: riotous drinking : revelry

Examples of WASSAIL

1. <woke up with a terrible headache from a wild wassail the night before>

Origin of WASSAIL

Middle English wæs hæil, washayl, from Old Norse ves heill be well, from ves (imperative singular of vera to be) + heill healthy — more at was, whole

First Known Use: 12th century

Related to WASSAIL

Synonyms: bender, binge, bust, carousal, drunk, jamboree, spree, toot, carouse

Related Words: blowout, kegger (also keg party); bacchanalia, orgy, revel, revelry; bibbery, bibulousness, drunkenness, inebriation, inebriety, intoxication, jag, tipsiness

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Other Alcoholic Beverage Terms

finish, gimlet, mull, sake, setup, sommelier, syllabub, vintner

Rhymes with WASSAIL

abseil, airmail, all hail, assail, avail, bake sale, bangtail, blackmail, blacktail, bobtail, broadscale, broadtail, bucktail, bud scale, canaille, cattail, chain mail, coattail, cocktail, contrail, curtail, derail, detail, doornail, dovetail, downscale, ducktail, e-mail, entail, exhale, fan mail, fantail, female, fife rail, fire sale, fishtail, folktale, foresail, foxtail, fresh gale, full-scale, gapped scale, Glendale, gray scale, greenmail, guardrail, Hallel, handrail, hangnail, headsail, hightail, hobnail, horntail, horsetail, impale, inhale, junk mail, Longueuil, lugsail, mainsail, mare's tail, Mondale, moon snail, oxtail, pass-fail, percale, pigtail, pintail, pinwale, plate rail, pot ale, prevail, rattail, regale, resale, rescale, retail, right whale, ringtail, Sangreal, Scottsdale, sea kale, shavetail, shirttail, skysail, slop pail, small-scale, snail mail, soft hail, split rail, springtail, spritsail, square sail, staysail, strong gale, surveil, swordtail, taffrail, tag sale, telltale, third rail, thumbnail, timescale, toenail, topsail, travail, trysail, unnail, unveil, upscale, ventail, voice mail, wage scale, wagtail, whiptail, white sale, whitetail, white whale, whole gale, wholesale, yard sale