Language Matters | Where the word ‘Easter’ comes from and how only 2 European languages use it
‘Easter’ is found in English and German but in most other European languages the word for the festival comes from old words for ‘Passover’
“Happy Easter!” is a wish that will be articulated by many this Sunday, certainly by those observing the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus – with both Western (Gregorian) and Orthodox Easter being celebrated on the same day this year.
What is interesting is that among the European languages, the word “Easter” is only found in English and German, while in other Germanic languages and most European languages, the word for the festival is derived from the corresponding word for “Passover”.
Passover is the Jewish festival commemorating the liberation of the Israelites in ancient Egypt after the Tenth Plague – when the Angel of Death killed all the firstborns in Egypt including the Pharoah’s, but passed over the homes of Israelites whose door posts had, on God’s command, been smeared with lamb’s blood.
The linguistic environment of the early Christian era encompassed a few significant languages.
These included Aramaic, a northwest Semitic language which was a long-standing literary and liturgical language and the lingua franca of the ancient Near East by the time of Jesus; and Hebrew, the dominant language of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament and the language of the Jews.
Other significant languages were Greek, the language of the Septuagint – a pre-Christian translation of the Hebrew Bible, the original language of the New Testament and the lingua franca of Levant at the time; and Latin, the language of the Roman Empire and soon an important language of the Christian Church.