wassail

noun /ˈwɑseɪl/

1. A toast to health, usually on a festive occasion.

   countable, uncountable

2. The beverage served during a wassail, especially one made of ale or wine flavoured with spices, sugar, roasted apples, etc.

   countable, uncountable

   Add ſugar, nutmeg and ginger, / VVith ſtore of ale too; / And thus ye muſt doe / To make the vvaſſaile a ſvvinger.

3. Revelry.

   countable, uncountable

   In merry wassail he […] peals his loud song.

4. A festive or drinking song or glee.

   countable, uncountable

   Have you done your wassail? 'Tis a handsome, drowsy ditty, I'll assure you.

Where it comes from

From Middle English wassail, from Old Norse ves heill (“be healthy!”), from the imperative of vesa (“to be”) + heill (“healthy”). The earliest documented use of the term is from the first part of the 12th century CE, in Geoffroy of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae (see page's citations).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry wassail (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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