saint nicholas

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Saint Nicholas
    n 1: a bishop in Asia Minor who is associated with Santa Claus
         (4th century) [syn: {Nicholas}, {Saint Nicholas}, {St.
         Nicholas}]
    2: the legendary patron saint of children; an imaginary being
       who is thought to bring presents to children at Christmas
       [syn: {Santa Claus}, {Santa}, {Kriss Kringle}, {Father
       Christmas}, {Saint Nicholas}, {Saint Nick}, {St. Nick}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Saint Nicholas \Saint Nicholas\, St Nicholas \St. Nicholas\, n.
   A Dutch saint, who was reputed to bring gifts to children on
   Christmas even, giving rise to the modern legend of {Santa
   Claus}.
   [PJC]

   {A Visit from St. Nicholas} The original name for a poem by
      Clement Clarke Moore, popularly called titled {The Night
      Before Christmans}. It is a popular poem with the theme of
      St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) coming to bring gifts to
      children on Christmans eve. See {Night Before Christmas}
      in the vocabulary.
      [PJC]