thanksgiving

Noun

thanksgiving (countable and uncountable, plural thanksgivings)

1. The expression of gratitude.
   • Now the happy king laid the forehead of thankſgiving upon the duſt of gratitude; he opened the doors of his wealth to the four winds, and enriched the world, at once, with his munificence.1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page 3
   • The waters grew suddenly lighter, and my spirits rose accordingly. I shouted down to those below that I saw daylight ahead, and a great shout of thanksgiving reverberated through the ship. A moment later we emerged into sunlit water, and immediately I raised the periscope and looked about me upon...1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter IV, in Hugo Gernsback, editor...
2. A short prayer said at meals; grace, a benediction.
3. A public celebration in acknowledgement of divine favour.
   • Hester Earle and Violet Wayne were moving about the aisle with bundles of wheat-ears and streamers of ivy, for the harvest thanksgiving was shortly to be celebrated, while the vicar stood waiting for their directions on the chancel steps with a great handful of crimson gladioli.1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC

Proper noun capitalized: Thanksgiving

IPA/θæŋksˈɡɪvɪŋ/

Thanksgiving (plural Thanksgivings)

1. (Canada, US) Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada, and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States.
   • It is at present impossible to determine when the General Court will adjourn, none of the great business having as yet been attended to, so as to be completed, but there seems to be a general determination to be at home at Thanksgiving. I hope it will be possible.1788, Theodore Sedgwick to his wife, 9 November, in The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections 1788–1790, vol. 1, ed. Merrill Jensen and Robert A. Becker, University of Wisconsin Press...
   • Across the harsh, salty smells that blew in gusts from the half-uncovered mud-flats of the river, my memory of old Thanksgivings at home called up most rich and tender savors of roast goose till an appetite of huge anticipation began to riot beneath my waistcoat.1898 November 19, Charles G[eorge] D[ouglas] Roberts, “The Bewitchment of Lieutenant Hanworthy”, in The Saturday Evening Post, volume 171, number 21, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Curtis Publishing Company...
2. (Canada, US) The long weekend which includes Thanksgiving Day; Thanksgiving weekend.
3. An analogous celebration in other cultures, especially a harvest festival.
   • Thus Sukkot became the Jewish Thanksgiving.1999, Sol Scharfstein, Understanding Jewish Holidays and Customs: Historical and Contemporary, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., →ISBN, page 39
   • The German Thanksgiving Day typically is on the first day of October when samples of the new harvest are displayed in churches.2006, James R. Dow, German Folklore: A Handbook, Greenwood Publishing Group