pentecost
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pentecost \Pen"te*cost\, n. [L. pentecoste, Gr. ? (sc. ?) the
fiftieth day, Pentecost, fr. ? fiftieth, fr. ? fifty, fr. ?
five. See {Five}, and cf. {Pingster}.]
1. A solemn festival of the Jews; -- so called because
celebrated on the fiftieth day (seven weeks) after the
second day of the Passover (which fell on the sixteenth of
the Jewish month Nisan); -- hence called, also, the {Feast
of Weeks}. At this festival an offering of the first
fruits of the harvest was made. By the Jews it was
generally regarded as commemorative of the gift of the law
on the fiftieth day after the departure from Egypt.
[1913 Webster]
2. A festival of the Roman Catholic and other churches in
commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the
apostles; which occurred on the day of Pentecost; --
called also {Whitsunday}. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
from
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Pentecost
i.e., "fiftieth", found only in the New Testament (Acts 2:1;
20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8). The festival so named is first spoken of in
Ex. 23:16 as "the feast of harvest," and again in Ex. 34:22 as
"the day of the firstfruits" (Num. 28:26). From the sixteenth of
the month of Nisan (the second day of the Passover), seven
complete weeks, i.e., forty-nine days, were to be reckoned, and
this feast was held on the fiftieth day. The manner in which it
was to be kept is described in Lev. 23:15-19; Num. 28:27-29.
Besides the sacrifices prescribed for the occasion, every one
was to bring to the Lord his "tribute of a free-will offering"
(Deut. 16:9-11). The purpose of this feast was to commemorate
the completion of the grain harvest. Its distinguishing feature
was the offering of "two leavened loaves" made from the new corn
of the completed harvest, which, with two lambs, were waved
before the Lord as a thank offering.
The day of Pentecost is noted in the Christian Church as the
day on which the Spirit descended upon the apostles, and on
which, under Peter's preaching, so many thousands were converted
in Jerusalem (Acts 2).
from
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
70 Moby Thesaurus words for "Pentecost":
Advent, Allhallowmas, Allhallows, Allhallowtide, Annunciation,
Annunciation Day, Ascension Day, Ash Wednesday, Candlemas,
Candlemas Day, Carnival, Christmas, Corpus Christi,
Day of Atonement, Easter, Easter Monday, Easter Saturday,
Easter Sunday, Eastertide, Ember days, Epiphany, Fast of Av,
Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Weeks, Good Friday, Halloween,
Hallowmas, Hanukkah, High Holy Days, Holy Thursday, Holy Week,
Lady Day, Lammas, Lammas Day, Lammastide, Lent, Lententide,
Mardi Gras, Martinmas, Maundy Thursday, Michaelmas, Michaelmas Day,
Michaelmastide, New Year, Ninth of Av, Palm Sunday, Pancake Day,
Passion Week, Passover, Pesach, Purim, Quadragesima,
Quadragesima Sunday, Rosh Hashanah, Septuagesima, Shabuoth,
Shrove Tuesday, Simhath Torah, Sukkoth, Trinity Sunday,
Twelfth-day, Twelfth-tide, Whit-Tuesday, White Sunday, Whitmonday,
Whitsun, Whitsunday, Whitsuntide, Whitweek, Yom Kippur
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