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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."
Examples of tiding in a Sentence
Breanne L. Heldman, People.com, 12 June 2025
The past year has brought some good tidings for the future of retirement savings.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
Yet, even as the Fed ordered the last of its 2024 rate cuts in December, the panel forecast a significantly slower pace of cuts in 2025, citing both good and bad economic tidings: lingering inflation coupled with strong economic growth.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2025
Stock indexes opened in positive territory Wednesday, as investors awaited the latest tidings from the Federal Reserve.
—Daniel De Visé, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Tiding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiding. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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