n. & v. archaic
--n.
1. a festive occasion; a drinking-bout.
2 a kind of liquor drunk on such an occasion.
--v.intr. make merry; celebrate with drinking etc.
Phrases and idioms:
wassail-bowl (or -cup) a bowl or cup from which healths were drunk, esp. on Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night.
Derivatives:
wassailer n.
Etymology: ME w{aelig}s h{aelig}il etc. f. ON ves heill, corresp. to OE wes hal 'be in health', a form of salutation: cf. HALE(1)