ˌkwinkwəˈjesəmə, -jāzəmə noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Medieval Latin, from Latin, fiftieth, from quinquaginta fifty, from quinqua- (akin to Latin quinque five) + -ginta (akin to Latin -ginti in viginti twenty) — more at five , vicenary
1. obsolete : the period extending from the Sunday before Lent to Easter Sunday or the first week of this period
2. : the Sunday before Lent or the seventh before Easter in the church year observed by various branches of the Christian Church — called also Quinquagesima Sunday, Shrove Sunday