*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Yule

From Middle English yol, youle, from Old English ġeōl (“Christmas, Yule”), either cognate with or from Old Norse jól, from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą. Cognate with Gothic 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 (jiuleis); see also Old English ġēola

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

Christmastide, the Christmas season, the Twelve Days of Christmas (between December 25ᵗʰ and January 5ᵗʰ). · A pagan wintertime holiday celebrated by Germanic peoples, particularly the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples, or a modern reconstruction of this holiday celebrated by neo-pagans. · A surname.

intj

A proclamation of joy at Christmas.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English yol, youle, from Old English ġeōl (“Christmas, Yule”), either cognate with or from Old Norse jól, from Proto-Germanic *jehwlą. Cognate with Gothic 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 (jiuleis); see also Old English ġēola and Old Norse ýlir.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "yol"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English yol"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ġeōl",
        "4": "",
        "5": "Christmas, Yule"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġeōl (“Christmas, Yule”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "lang",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "eng. <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"en\">yule</i> [blev] laant fra nordisk"
      },
      "expansion": "eng. yule [blev] laant fra nordisk"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "jól"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse jól"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*jehwlą"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *jehwlą"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃 (jiuleis)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "ġēola"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ġēola"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "ýlir"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse ýlir"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "yol",
      "yol#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "youle",
      "youle#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ġeōl",
      "geol#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "jól",
      "jól#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*jehwlą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/jehwlą"
    ],
    [
      "𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃",
      "𐌾𐌹𐌿𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍃#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "ġēola",
      "geola#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ýlir",
      "ýlir#Old_Norse"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Christmastide, the Christmas season, the Twelve Days of Christmas (between December 25ᵗʰ and January 5ᵗʰ).",
        "A pagan wintertime holiday celebrated by Germanic peoples, particularly the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples, or a modern reconstruction of this holiday celebrated by neo-pagans.",
        "A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "90514378f67c4e8d4dca9b3d99491adcc7dc81ac4fe7333c641c53b0d1b5d1ff",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1dc433b7c066cfd823031199e24fe03b5f098f5945eedc2bd33a945d17a908ad",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 240752
    },
    {
      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "A proclamation of joy at Christmas."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "fbf743d46e6b2d2eb861a470f600fc5dadec8996ecd5ec6edf50d7c6c3a5e525",
      "rawRecordSha256": "099ad464f4df821c25718ad21390ea26af0bbbacdbe8e5a8a0f307e39125333f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 240753
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Yule →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-WXVsZQ