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."
Examples of tiding in a Sentence
Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2025
Happy tidings for those seeking satsuma mandarins, Hokkaido cream puffs and instant yakisoba.
—John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
For The Union-Tribune Bladder tidings In May, surgeons at USC and UCLA collaborated to perform the world’s first-in-human bladder transplant.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 July 2025
To paraphrase Mahalia Jackson’s memorable description of gospel, the music brought good tidings and good news to my life.
—Santi Elijah Holley, New York Times, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for tiding
Cite this Entry
“Tiding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tiding. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
Copy Citation
Share