eastre

See also: Eastre

Old English

Alternative forms

• ēastrun, ēastron, ēastru, ēoster, ēster, ēastor, ēastro

Etymology

Apparently named from the dawn goddess Ēastre, from Proto-West Germanic *austrā, from Proto-Germanic *Austrǭ, from a suffixed form of Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“dawn”). Cognate with Old Frisian āsteron, Old High German ōstarūn (German Ostern).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæ͜ɑːs.tre/

Noun

ēastre f

1. Easter

Usage notes

• Often used in the plural, with no change in meaning.

• The oblique cases often show -on instead of -an. This could be from the original Germanic ending, -ōn, which became -an in all other n-stems.

Declension

Weak:

	singular	plural
nominative	ēastre	ēastran
accusative	ēastran	ēastran
genitive	ēastran	ēastrena
dative	ēastran	ēastrum

Derived terms

• ēasterlīċ
• ēastermōnaþ
• ēastertīd

Descendants

• Middle English: Eestour, Ester, Yestre
  • English: Easter
    • → Chickasaw: Iista'
  • Scots: Easter

References

• Boehler, Maria. (1967) Die altenglischen Frauennamen, page 67
• Ed. Henry Sweet (1885) The oldest English texts, volume 34, pages 158-159, 611