Eid

1. 1
   noununcountable

   Any of various religious festivals celebrated by Muslims.

   Mosques fill early in the morning as worshippers gather for Eid prayers.

   She flies home every year to spend Eid with her extended family.

   Note

   The word reached English from Arabic ʿīd, "feast, holiday, festival," by way of Persian, and its roots go back further to Classical Syriac. As a common noun it covers more than one celebration, chiefly Eid al-Fitr, which ends the Ramadan fast, and Eid al-Adha. Use the full name when the particular festival matters. Even as a noun it keeps its capital, as in Eid prayers and greetings, and its plural is Eids.

2. 2
   proper nounabbreviationellipsis

   Ellipsis of Eid al-Fitr.

   The end of Ramadan brought Eid, and the streets filled with families in their best clothes.

   He called his parents on Eid morning to wish them a joyful end to the fast.

   Note

   As a name, the word is clipped from Eid al-Fitr, the celebration held on the first day of the tenth month of the Muslim lunar calendar, as Ramadan closes. The bare word also serves as the general name for Muslim festivals, so talk of fasting or the end of Ramadan usually tells a reader which feast is meant. Spell out Eid al-Fitr wherever the distinction could matter.

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