tidings

Tidings is a noun meaning news or information about recent events. It is most commonly used in the plural form and tends to appear in formal, literary, or ceremonial language. The word can denote a single report in phrases like “bring tidings,” or collectively refer to reports or messages received.

Etymology and history traces tidings to Old English, with forms such as tidung or tiding meaning a piece of news or an event. The term is related to other Germanic words for time or season, and its usage has long carried a sense of messages carried from one place to another. In religious and literary contexts, tidings is often paired with adjectives such as good or joyous, as in “good tidings” or “tidings of joy,” a usage popularized in biblical translations and Christian liturgy.

Usage and nuance: In contemporary language, tidings appears primarily in formal or historical writing, or in quotations that evoke a traditional or biblical tone. Modern journalism and everyday speech favor “news.” The singular form tiding is largely archaic today and is rarely used outside of historical texts or specific stylistic aims. Common phrases include bearing tidings, spreading tidings, and tidings from abroad, as well as well-known expressions such as good tidings of comfort and joy.

See also: news, good tidings, bear tidings, tidings from afar, tidings of war and peace.