Black Friday

[ blak frahy-dey, -dee ]

noun

1. September 24, 1869, the date of a financial panic sparked by gold speculators.
2. the day after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest shopping days because of discounts offered by retailers: Compare Cyber Monday, Green Monday.

   I sign up for promotional emails at my favorite stores before Black Friday so I don’t miss any exceptional bargains.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Black Friday¹

First recorded in 1865–70; from black in the sense “marked by disaster or misfortune”; the 1951 sense “day after Thanksgiving” originally so called from the troublesome traffic caused by shoppers and later re-explained with reference to the use of black ink to record business profits