Added 10 October 2026
homecoming
/ˈhoʊmˌkʌmɪŋ/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about homecoming at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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The act or event of returning home.
His homecoming was saddened by the news of his mother's death the day before.
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In high schools and colleges, a tradition centered around a football game, a parade and the coronation of a Homecoming Queen.
Many alumni come back for homecoming, and many freshmen are advised to flee.
- Ellipsis of harvest homecoming, a traditional (street) party and/or dance near the start of the school year, at around fall mid-terms. It traditionally marks the start of harvest break, where students go home in autumn to harvest the crops on the family farms.
Origin
From Middle English hom-comyng, home komyng, home-cumyng, home-commynge, equivalent to home + coming. Probably an alteration of earlier Middle English hom-come, homkome, hame-come, ham-cume, from Old English hāmcyme (“homecoming; return”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)