# What does Easter mean?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 30, 2002, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981 "2002-03-30T23:13:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981/1 "2002-03-30T23:13:54Z")

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What does the actual _word_ **Easter** mean? Not what it signifies, but where the word came from etc.

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**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981/2 "2002-03-30T23:28:56Z")

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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”

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981/3 "2002-03-30T23:30:36Z")

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_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”.)

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**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981/4 "2002-03-30T23:59:53Z")

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Further to my earlier answer ( and that of **tomndebb** ), [this site](http://www.ealdriht.org/eostre.html) gives some information about Eostre.

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**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981/5 "2002-03-31T00:43:59Z")

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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

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**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981/6 "2002-03-31T00:57:36Z")

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Actually, oestrogen is derived from the Latin word _oestrus_, from the Greek _oistros_. Both words mean gadfly or inspiration or frenzy.

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**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\
**Post date:** [March 31, 2002, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-easter-mean/100981/7 "2002-03-31T08:41:04Z")

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The word Eostre and the variant, Ostara, are used by modern Pagans to denote our Spring Equinox festival.