wassail [ME] In the Middle Ages wassail was a drinking toast that literally meant ‘Be in good health’. The polite reply was drinkhail, ‘Drink good health’. Both words come from Old Norse, and were probably introduced by Danish-speaking inhabitants of England. By the 12th century they were considered by the Normans to be characteristic of Englishmen: in a work of 1190 the English students at the university of Paris are praised for generosity and other virtues, but are said to be too much addicted to ‘wassail’ and ‘drinkhail’. The second half of each toast is related to the Old English words hale [OE], as in hale and hearty, hail [ME] to greet’, and whole [OE].