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Glite Dictionary
Martinmas

Martinmas

9.9
A day on November 11 when people celebrate Saint Martin
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : Martín
  • In Scotland, Martinmas was traditionally one of the quarter days used for financial accounts.

Examples

  • The church held a special service in honor of Martinmas to commemorate Saint Martin.

  • On November 11th, many people celebrate Martinmas with feasts and festivities.

  • A good place to start might be with Wahl's first published story "Martinmas," which can be found online in The New Yorker archives.

    Blog text (21)

  • After cohabiting for two or three days, she "insisted upon returning to her service where the Complainer understood she was to remain till the term of Martinmas thereafter, but he very soon discovered, in consequence of letters from herself and otherwise, that she had formed an adulterous connection with William Loch," son of her master.

    Academic text (1996)

Synonyms

St Martin's Day
vsMartinmas
  • UK
6.4

A day on November 11 when people in parts of Europe celebrate Saint Martin with lantern walks

emphasizes its past role as a Scottish quarter day rather than broad European observance
11 November
vsMartinmas
  • UK
5.7

A day that marks Saint Martin's Day and is a traditional day for paying rents in Scotland

is the religious festival held on that date rather than the date itself

Surface Forms

Martinmas singular
Martinmasses plural

Morphology

Martinmas = Martin (semi-transparent) = Martin + mas

Formally 'Martin' + the element '-mas' (from 'mass' meaning 'feast'); the element is archaic and not productive, so learners may not automatically infer 'feast day' from the parts.

Etymology

The word Martinmas comes from Martin and mas, where Martin is Saint Martin of Tours and mas is an old word for 'Mass' or 'church service', and Saint Martin is remembered for sharing his cloak with a beggar. So Martinmas means the 'Mass of Saint Martin' and still names his feast day on November 11, which used to be one of the days when rents were paid after the harvest.