Word.ws English Dictionary

Ash Wednesday

US/æʃ wɛnz.dɛɪ/

Ash Wednesday noun: the Wednesday 46 days before Easter in a given year, (Catholicism) traditionally observed as the beginning of Lent and a day of strict abstention from certain foods and pleasures.

Noun

Ash Wednesday (plural Ash Wednesdays)

  1. The Wednesday 46 days before Easter in a given year, (Catholicism) traditionally observed as the beginning of Lent and a day of strict abstention from certain foods and pleasures.
    • Pope Gregory the Great introduced the sprinkling of ashes... which gave it the name of Ash-Wednesday.1834, Penny Cyclopaedia, volume II, page 454
    • Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is the last day to feast on rich, fatty foods before the 40-day Lenten season starts the next day, on Ash Wednesday.2026 February 16, Alicia Eler, “Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Lent in rare alignment this year. The holidays follow different solar and lunar calendars, but some of them sync up in 2026”, in Minnesota...
  2. (cocktail) A cocktail made from a mix of gin, heavy cream, honey syrup, and blackberries

Ash Wednesday meaning in Tamil, Tagalog, Malay and Indonesian

Ash Wednesday in Tamil

சாம்பலடிப்பெருநாள், நீறுதரிக்கும்புதன்கிழமை

Ash Wednesday in Tagalog

the Christian day of penitence 46 days before Easter
Miyerkoles ng Abo

Ash Wednesday in Malay

the Christian day of penitence 46 days before Easter
Rabu Abu

Ash Wednesday in Indonesian

the Christian day of penitence 46 days before Easter
Rabu Abu
More languagesFewer languages
Ash Wednesday in Vietnamese
Thứ Tư Lễ Tro

Forms of Ash Wednesday

pluralAsh Wednesdays
alternative formAshwednesday
alternative formAsh-Wednesday

Origin of Ash Wednesday

From Middle English Aschewednysday, Axwednesdai, from asshe, axe (“ash”) + Wednesdai, Wednysday (“Wednesday”), from the custom of using the blessed ashes of the previous year's palm fronds (cf. Palm Sunday) to mark the heads of the congregation on the day. By surface analysis, ash + Wednesday.

Words formed from Ash Wednesday

Questions about Ash Wednesday

What does Ash Wednesday mean?
Ash Wednesday means the Wednesday 46 days before Easter in a given year, (Catholicism) traditionally observed as the beginning of Lent and a day of strict abstention from certain foods and pleasures.
What is Ash Wednesday in Tamil?
Ash Wednesday in Tamil is சாம்பலடிப்பெருநாள், நீறுதரிக்கும்புதன்கிழமை. See Ash Wednesday meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday is a noun.
How do you pronounce Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday is pronounced /æʃ wɛnz.dɛɪ/ (US).
What is the plural of Ash Wednesday?
The plural of Ash Wednesday is Ash Wednesdays.

Words near Ash Wednesday in the dictionary

  1. ash stands
  2. ash tree
  3. ash trees
  4. Ash Vale
  5. Ash Vegas
  6. Ash Wednesday
  7. Ash Wednesdays
  8. ash weevil
  9. Ash'ari
  10. Ash'arism
  11. Ash'arite

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Ash Wednesday (page history and authors); ash wednesday (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Ash Wednesday.wav.

Cite this entry: “Ash Wednesday.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ash_wednesday. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.