Armistice Day
Preserved but no longer current.
Hostilities in World War I ended at 11 o'clock on November llth, 1918, when an armistice was signed. In subsequent years November llth was kept as Armistice Day, marked by a two-minute silence and cessation of work at 11 a.m., followed in various places by ceremonies. In 1946 the old name was changed to Remembrance Day, to include a memorial of the close of the 1939-45 war and it is kept on the Sunday nearest llth November.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Armistice Day” mean?
Hostilities in World War I ended at 11 o'clock on November llth, 1918, when an armistice was signed. In subsequent years November llth was kept as Armistice Day, marked by a two-minute silence and cessation of work at 11 a.m., followed in various places by ceremonies. In 1946 the old name was changed to Remembrance Day, to include a memorial of the close of the 1939-45 war and it is kept on the Sunday nearest llth November.
Is “Armistice Day” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.