What does the actual word Easter mean? Not what it signifies, but where the word came from etc.
Chambers dictionary gives:
“Old English eastre; German Ostern; Bede derives the word from Eostre ( variant of Eastre), a goddess whose festival was held at the Spring Equinox”
Eostre, the Northumbrian name for a godess of the dawn who had a huge feast celebrated in Britain at the time of the Spring Equinox.
(It is not entirely clear why that particular celebration left its name on the English celebration of the Resurrection, as most European languages and cultures use words based on the Latin pascal from the Hebrew word translated in English as “Passover”.)
Further to my earlier answer ( and that of tomndebb), this site gives some information about Eostre.
Thanks Jabba and tomndebb…
which now has me wondering about the origins of Oestregen (that wonderful female hormone). Given the similarities, looks like same derivation I would conject.
Happy Eostre All
Actually, oestrogen is derived from the Latin word oestrus, from the Greek oistros. Both words mean gadfly or inspiration or frenzy.
The word Eostre and the variant, Ostara, are used by modern Pagans to denote our Spring Equinox festival.