public holiday
3
1.4
- noun
- UK
:
festivo
- It's a public holiday here in Australia, so I'm going to head out and enjoy some sun with The Boyfriend.
- public holiday to celebrate
Examples
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Many businesses close on public holidays, giving employees a chance to spend time with their families.
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Most people are at home enjoying the public holiday.
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Here in Melbourne, Australia, we have a public holiday on that day for a 3 1/2 minute horse race.
Blog text (19) -
This weekend is a public holiday, so I hope to schedule a bunch of posts.
Blog text (6) -
If the day off is a public holiday, they earn triple their regular wage, in addition to their holiday pay.
Blog text (15) -
In honor of the Monday public holiday (in most of Australia), I give you this Madonna classic.
Blog text (7) -
With a public holiday coming up next week, Barboza and Bradsher expect tempers to cool at the plant.
Blog text (19) -
Yom Kippur (Jewish) and Aid-el-Kebir (Muslim) should be added to France's public holidays.
Academic text (2006) -
The government declared the first of May as a public holiday, allowing everyone to take the day off.
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In our country, a public holiday means schools and offices are closed in celebration of the national event.
Synonyms
458
1.0
A day when most people do not have to work because of a law or custom
12
1.0
A public day when most shops and government offices close across the whole country
2
2.3
A public holiday when banks and many shops and offices close
1
1.8
A day that the law says people do not work and offices are closed
How Important
- UK
3
1.4
- Formal
6
4.7
6
3.7
15
6.0
268
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a legally recognized day when work is suspended' is directly and predictably built from 'public' (non-private/official) + 'holiday' (a day off), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the sense. This adjective-noun composition is cross-linguistically common (e.g., French 'jour férié', Spanish 'festivo público'), supporting a transparent interpretation.
Etymology
Public holiday comes from the older word holiday, which originally meant a 'holy day', a religious festival when people did not work. When such days were later set by governments for everyone, they became public holidays, meaning a 'day off' for the public.