tidings

[ tahy-dingz ]

noun

, (sometimes used with a singular verb)

1. news, information, or intelligence:

   Cards with joyful holiday tidings filled the fireplace mantel.

   The soldiers eagerly opened the letters, devouring the tidings from home.

tidings

/ ˈtaɪdɪŋz /

plural noun

1. information or news

Word History and Origins

Origin of tidings¹

First recorded before 1100; Middle English; Old English tīdung “announcement, news item”; cognate with Dutch tijding, German Zeitung “newspaper, news”; akin to Old Norse tīthindi “news, events”; tide ², -ing ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of tidings¹

Old English tīdung; related to Middle Low German tīdinge information, Old Norse tidhendi events; see tide ²

Example Sentences

In following Christ, she explained, it is his mercy and advocacy for the downtrodden — for whom he was anointed to bring "glad tidings" — that she and her fellow marchers look to for guidance.

From Salon

More than a year after the Russian invasion, a British humanitarian aid worker who traveled often to Ukraine returned to his Stratford base, bearing — with a measure of Shakespearean brio — extraordinary tidings.

From Los Angeles Times

Each box of cards had a theme — Disney characters, Garfield, the Berenstain Bears — but were otherwise generic, bearing anodyne tidings of holiday cheer.

From New York Times

The nominations for the 81st Golden Globes, announced Monday morning, brought good tidings for box-office titans “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” though some of the other contenders hoping to break through were dealt an early setback.

From New York Times

There's a 2007 "South Park" episode that, at the time, seemed to be a harbinger of bad tidings to come.

From Salon

Related Words

• greetings
• information
• intelligence
• news