tiding

noun tid·ing \ ˈtī-diŋ \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of tiding

: a piece of news —usually used in plural

good tidings

tiding was our Word of the Day on 12/25/2011. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of tiding from the Web

And perhaps the good monetary tidings will hurry along the negotiations between the chambers, which have both passed versions of a state spending plan but have not yet been able to reconcile them.

— joshua miller, BostonGlobe.com, "State lands tax windfall: $1.2 billion more than expected," 6 July 2018
The times and tidings of the three presidents couldn’t be more diverse.

— carol cain, Detroit Free Press, "What 3 Michigan university presidents said about state's higher education," 12 May 2018
That’s probably good tidings for the whole autonomous vehicle industry, which still scares its fair share of Americans.

— aarian marshall, WIRED, "Massachusetts Welcomes Self-Driving Cars—With a Couple Caveats," 21 June 2018
Sample cookies, spiced coffee and tea and celebrate with good tidings for all.

— amy schwabe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Weekend guide: "The Nutcracker" opening, Dickens of a Day, holiday animation and more," 6 Dec. 2017
Some glad tidings did arrive, in the person of Eugenio Suarez.

— tom groeschen, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati Reds: Eugenio Suarez activated from DL, Herrera called up, 2 others sent down," 26 Apr. 2018
Unfortunately, the good tidings for Emma may end there because of her next remarks.

— lauren le vine, Redbook, "Emma Thompson Is the Latest Celeb Under Fire for Working Mom Comments," 27 May 2014
And the Decemberists proved bearers of bad tidings.

— bob gendron, chicagotribune.com, "Wit and whimsy ever present at Decemberists' Chicago Theatre show," 11 Apr. 2018
Soon reinforced by Howe’s fleet, the defenders held out until February 1783, when tidings of peace finally ended the epic siege.

— stephen brumwell, WSJ, "‘Gibraltar’ Review: When the Rock Was a Hard Place," 3 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tiding.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

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."