noun
a Christian holy day; one of four specified days when certain payments are due
• Regions: ↑United Kingdom, ↑UK, ↑U.K., ↑Britain, ↑United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ↑Great Britain
• Hypernyms: ↑Christian holy day
• Hyponyms:
↑Martinmas, ↑St Martin's Day, ↑11 November, ↑Annunciation, ↑Lady Day, ↑Annunciation Day, ↑March 25, ↑Michaelmas, ↑Michaelmas Day, ↑September 29, ↑Candlemas, ↑Candlemas Day, ↑Feb 2, ↑Lammas, ↑Lammas Day, ↑August 1, ↑Christmas, ↑Christmas Day, ↑Xmas, ↑Dec 25, ↑Midsummer Day, ↑Midsummer's Day, ↑St John's Day, ↑June 24, ↑Pentecost, ↑Whitsunday
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nounEtymology: Middle English, from quarter (I) + day
: the day beginning a quarter of the year and often used as the date when a quarterly payment (as rent) falls due
every quarter day Madame wept before the landlord — Philip O'Connor
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1. (in England, Ireland, and Wales) one of the four days, Lady Day, Midsummer Day, Michaelmas, or Christmas, regarded as marking off the quarters of the year, on which quarterly payments are due, tenancies begin and end, etc.
2. (in Scotland) one of the four days, Candlemas, Whitsunday, Lammas, or Martinmas, regarded as marking off the quarters of the year.
[1470-80]
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quarter day noun
The day on each of the year's quarters on which rent or interest is due to be paid
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Main Entry: ↑quarter
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in the UK, one of four days in the year when some official payments are made
Thesaurus: miscellaneous special dayshyponym
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quarter day,
a day beginning or ending a quarter of the year, especially for dating rents, salaries, or other arrangements. In England, the quarter days are March 25 (Lady Day), June 24 (Midsummer Day), September 29 (Michaelmas), and December 25 (Christmas).
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the first day of a ↑quarter (= a period of three months) on which payments must be made, for example at the ↑stock exchange
Culture:
quarter days
In Britain, since the Middle Ages quarter days have marked the beginning of each new quarter (= period of three months) of the year. (There are no quarter days in the US.) Rent and interest payments are often made on quarter days, and many contracts, especially concerning property, begin or end then. In former times quarter days were often celebrated with big ↑fairs. Agricultural workers and servants who wanted to change their jobs went to the fair to try to find a new employer.
The names of quarter days are taken from the calendar of the ↑medieval Church. In England and Wales the quarter days are: 25 March (Lady Day, marking the feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary), 24 June (Midsummer Day or St John the Baptist’s Day), 29 September (Michaelmas Day or St Michael and All Angels’ Day) and 25 December (Christmas Day).
In Scotland quarter days are known as term days. They formerly followed the Christian calendar and were: 2 February (Candlemas), 15 May ( ↑Whit), 1 August (Lammas Day) and 11 November (Martinmas). Since 1991 the dates have been changed, although the traditional names have been kept. The dates are now 28 February, 28 May, 28 August and 28 November.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.