14 Archaic Christmas Carol Words, Explained

Many of us sing Christmas songs without giving a second thought to the lyrics. But for those who are paying attention, there are some pretty ancient terms mixed in with all of the fa-la-la-ing. Here are the meanings of 14 of them, perfect for impressing your friends and family as you gather ’round the piano—assuming anyone actually does that.

1. Bobtail // “Jingle Bells”
2. Upsot // “Jingle Bells”
3. Troll // “Deck the Halls”
4. Matin // “Ding Dong Merrily on High”
5. Rime // “Ding Dong Merrily on High”
6. Cloven // “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”
7. Gall // “The Holly and the Ivy”
8. Verdant // “O Christmas Tree”
9. Parson // “Winter Wonderland”
10. Lowing // “Away in a Manger”
11. Hark // “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing”
12. Yon // “Silent Night”
13. Wassailing // “Here We Come A-Wassailing”
14. Dinted // “Good King Wenceslas”

Bobtail // “Jingle Bells”

The Lyric: “Bells on bobtail ring / Making spirits bright”

This lyric is sometimes misheard as “Bells on Bob’s tail” or “Bells on Bobtail,” as if Bob or Bobtail is the name of the horse. But bobtail actually refers to the style of the horse’s tail—a tail cut short, or a tail gathered up and tied in a knot, which you sometimes see in dressage events these days.

Upsot // “Jingle Bells”

The Lyric: “The horse was lean and lank / Misfortune seemed his lot / We ran into a drifted bank / And there we got upsot”

This is in one of the often-ignored verses of “Jingle Bells,” but according to Minnesota Public Radio, upsot means “upset or overturned,” as you can probably guess from the lyrics. Judging by its use in other poems and songs of the era, it can also mean “upset” in the emotional sense.

Troll // “Deck the Halls”

The Lyric: “Troll the ancient Yuletide carol”

In today’s lingo, any phrase involving troll gives us visions of mean people on the internet, ready to launch anonymous attacks on beloved Christmas songs. But in the 1800s, the word was often used with one of its now little-known meanings: “to sing loudly and clearly.”

Matin // “Ding Dong Merrily on High”

The Lyric: “Pray you, dutifully prime your matin chime, ye ringers”

Matin refers to the morning prayers of the Anglican Church.

Rime // “Ding Dong Merrily on High”

The Lyric: “May you beautifully rime your evetime song, ye singers”

The second half of the matin-containing couplet features rime, whose technical definition is “a thin coating of ice.” But in this instance, it may just be an old, alternate spelling of rhyme.

Cloven // “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”

The Lyric: “Still through the cloven skies they come”

It’s possible that your first thought upon seeing the word cloven is cloven hooves, and you wonder what that has to do with the birth of Jesus. The reason they’re called “cloven hooves” is because cloven means “split or parted”—the song is referring to the parting of the clouds in the skies for angels to come down and sing.

Gall // “The Holly and the Ivy”

The Lyric: “The holly bears a bark as bitter as any gall”

These days, you typically hear gall in the “rancor or bitterness of spirit” sense. But here it may refer to a kind of knobbly outgrowth that can form on plants due to activity by insects, fungi, or some other source. Galls are often bitter because they’re high in tannins. (The word can also mean “bile,” which also definitely doesn’t taste good.)

Verdant // “O Christmas Tree”

The Lyric: “How are thy leaves so verdant”

Verdant simply means “green.”

Parson // “Winter Wonderland”

The Lyric: “Then pretend that he is Parson Brown”

Parson can be a word for a member of the clergy, especially a Protestant pastor.

Lowing // “Away in a Manger”

The Lyric: “The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes”

This is often misheard as “the cattle are lonely.” If you haven’t grown up in cattle country, you might not know this, but lowing refers to the deep, low sounds made by cattle. When a cow goes “moo,” it’s lowing.

Hark // “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing”

The Lyric: “Hark, the herald angels sing / Glory to the newborn king”

Hark is a verb meaning “to pay close attention,” so the angels in this song really want you to listen up.

Yon // “Silent Night”

The Lyric: “Round yon virgin mother and child”

Yon means “yonder,” so the carol is basically saying, “look at that virgin over there.”

Wassailing // “Here We Come A-Wassailing”

The Lyric: “Here we come a-wassailing / Among the leaves so green”

Wassail has had many meanings, from “a toast to a person’s health” to “a drunken revelry” to “a boozy punch.” Wassailing eventually came to refer to the practice of going around begging for something to drink, and getting rowdy while doing so. Usually when we sing this carol these days, the word caroling is subbed in for wassailing.

Dinted // “Good King Wenceslas”

The Lyric: “In his master’s step he trod / Where the snow lay dinted”

Dint, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means “A mark or impression made by a blow or by pressure”—or, put another way, dinted means “dented.”

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A version of this story originally ran in 2010; it has been updated for 2024.