# Halloween

Pronunciation: say "ha-luh-WEEN" US /ˌhæ.ləˈwiːn/, UK /ˌha.ləˈwiːn/

## Proper noun

1. The eve of All Hallows' Day, October 31st, celebrated mainly in English-speaking countries by children going door-to-door in costume to collect candy.
   - Simple: The night of October 31st, when children dress up in costumes and ask neighbors for candy.
   - _Every Halloween, the whole street decorates their porches with carved pumpkins and fake cobwebs._
   - _She hosts a Halloween party each year where guests compete for the best costume._

## Origin

This is a Scottish shortening of Allhalloweven, formed from Allhallowmas (the obsolete earlier name of All Saints' Day) plus even, an archaic or poetic variant of eve.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/halloween (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).