noël

Noël comes from Latin natalis (dies), meaning 'birthday (day).' The Latin word was specifically applied to the birthday of Christ — natalis Domini, the birthday of the Lord. As Latin evolved into Old French, natalis became noël through a series of sound changes: the 't' softened, the vowels shifted, and the word contracted. By the twelfth century, noël was the standard French word for Christmas.

English borrowed noël in the fourteenth century, both as a word for Christmas and as a word for a Christmas carol. The carol 'The First Nowell' (an English spelling variant) dates to the eighteenth century, though its melody may be older. In English, 'noel' with a lowercase 'n' came to mean any Christmas carol or Christmas song. With an uppercase 'N,' it meant the holiday itself. The same word named both the day and the music.

The word also became a given name. Noël Coward was born on December 16, 1899 — close enough to Christmas for the name. The name convention is old: children born on or near Christmas Day have been named Noël or Noelle since the Middle Ages. The Latin word for birthday became a birthday name for a specific birthday.

In modern French, Joyeux Noël is 'Merry Christmas.' The word has no secular equivalent — it means Christmas and only Christmas. In English, the word has drifted slightly, used in decorations, cards, and carols even by people who don't speak French and may not know the word means 'birthday.' The natalis became invisible. The celebration remained.