Imbolc
Syllables: Im·bolc/ˈɪmbɒlk/US/ˈɪmbɑlk/
Imbolc proper noun: a Gaelic and Wiccan festival celebrated on 1 or 2 February which marks the beginning of spring.
Proper noun
Imbolc
- A Gaelic and Wiccan festival celebrated on 1 or 2 February which marks the beginning of spring.
- [T]hat the ancient Irish, at some remote period, did divide the year into the three seasons of Samh, summer, Gamh, winter, and Imbolc, spring (omitting the Foghmhar, or autumn), is quite evident from the fact, that Cormac Mac Cuileannain and the other old glossarists, explain Samhain, or November...1862 June 10, Eugene O’Curry, “Lecture XXX. [Of Music and Musical Instruments in Ancient Erinn.]”, in W. K. Sullivan, editor, On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish. A Series of Lectures...
- Invite, but never command, friendly spirits, faeries, or elementals to join you as you wish. In some traditons it is common to invite ancestors to join you, especially during the dark days from Samhain to Imbolg when it is believed that the portal between our dimensions is at its thinnest.1994, Edain McCoy, “Appendix Three: Outline for Ritual Construction”, in A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk: How to Work with the Elemental World: […], St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publishers, published...
- Synonyms:
- Brigid's Day, Saint Brigid's Day
Examples of Imbolc in a sentence
- The Festival of Imbolc commences on February eve, or January 31, and usually concludes on February 2.2007, Judy Ann Nock, “Season Three: Imbolc: First Light in the Dark of Winter”, in The Provenance Press Guide to the Wiccan Year: Spells...
- Never leave incense, candles, or anything else burning when you are not in the room to ensure you will be around for many more Imbolcs to come.2015, Carl F. Neal, Imbolc: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for Brigid’s Day (Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials), Woodbury, Minn.: Llewellyn...
- Upon Imbolc, the sheaf becomes the infant Goddess Brigid once again, marking the fragile beginnings of the new agricultural cycle.2015, Courtney Weber, “Imbolc: Brigid the Springtime Goddess, the Mother, and the Midwife”, in Brigid: History, Mystery, and Magick of the...
Synonyms of Imbolc
- Brigid's Day
- Saint Brigid's Day
Forms of Imbolc
| alternative form | Imbolg |
|---|
Origin of Imbolc
Learned borrowing from Old Irish Imbolc, the pre-Christian name of a festival celebrated on the first day of Spring, later a name for Candlemas. The etymology of the Old Irish word is uncertain; common explanations include the following: * From Old Irish i mbolg (“in the belly”), referring to pregnant ewes. * From Old Irish imb-fholc (“to cleanse or wash oneself”), referring to a ritual cleansing. * Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *h₂melǵ- (“to milk; milk”), though the connection between the milking of animals and the festival is not clear. Some descendants of this root have meanings related to cleansing (for example, Persian مالیدن (mâlidan, “to rub, smear”), Sanskrit मर्जति (marjati, “to clean, wipe”)), so the root could also have the sense of purification.
Questions about Imbolc
- What does Imbolc mean?
- Imbolc means a Gaelic and Wiccan festival celebrated on 1 or 2 February which marks the beginning of spring.
- How do you use Imbolc in a sentence?
- The Festival of Imbolc commences on February eve, or January 31, and usually concludes on February 2.
- What part of speech is Imbolc?
- Imbolc is a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Imbolc?
- Imbolc is pronounced /ˈɪmbɒlk/ (UK).
Words near Imbolc in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Imbolc (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.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Imbolc.wav.
Cite this entry: “Imbolc.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/imbolc. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.