Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - holiday

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English haligd?g, from halig holy + d?g day  Date: before 12th century  1. holy day  2. a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event  3. chiefly British vacation — often used in the phrase on ~; often used in plural  4. a period of exemption or relief corporations enjoying a tax ~  II. intransitive verb  Date: 1869 to take or spend a ~ especially in travel or at a resort  • ~er noun HOLIDAY  biographical name Eleanora 1915-1959 Billie American jazz singer