Revised as of
8 Jan 2023
Okay, I reckon this author thought that yule was some kind of folksy way of saying you’ll. Gotta tell ya. It’s not.
You’ll is a contraction for you will and you shall.
Yule is all about Christmas, however you celebrate it. The biggest question about yule is whether it’s uppercase or lowercase.
Some dictionaries consider it a proper noun which must be capitalized while others list it as a noun which can go either way. Your choice — whether to capitalize or not — depends on if you’re using it as a proper noun or an adjective.
The word confusion you’ll vs yule is a pair of heterographs (a subset of homophone).
You may also want to explore “Yore vs You’re vs Your“, “You and Its Plural“, and “Ewe vs Yew vs You“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “You’ll versus Yule” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| You’ll | Yule |
|---|---|
Linton Indiana Fire Department: You’ll Like Linton by Dragonoto is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. |
Yule Log Cake is ChuKat600’s own work and is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons through English Wikipedia. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Pronoun, second person singular or plural + Verb, simple future |
Noun
Plural: yule |
| A contraction of you will, you shall
|
[Archaic] Term for Christmas, Christmas season
The Twelve Days of Christmas (between December 25th and January 5th) A pagan wintertime holiday celebrated by Germanic peoples, particularly the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon peoples, or a modern reconstruction of this holiday celebrated by neo-pagans |
| Examples: | |
| You’ll find it under that rock.
If you’ll be there, I can give it to you. You’ll be contacted later. You’ll find many exciting features. |
They’re bringing in the yule log.
I love Yule and all its festive decorations and music. Christmas shopping can turn even the most ardent yule lover into a “bah humbug” grinch. Will Grandma make her yule log for Christmas? Yule is coming up. Are you ready? |
| Derivatives: | |
| Noun: Yulefest, Yuletide | |
| History of the Word: | |
|
Old English gēol(a) meaning Christmas Day. Compare with the Old Norse jól, originally applied to a heathen festival lasting twelve days, later to Christmas.
The Oxford Companion to the Year comments that, “Before the Norman Conquest this day [December 25] was normally called ‘Midwinter’ in Old English ; it was not called ‘Yule’, which . . . is more Scots than English.” |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for You’ll versus Yule
Apple Dictionary.com
Collins: yule
Thompson, Austin. “The Many Stories Behind the Origins of Yule.” Mental Floss. 20 Dec 2019. Web. 22 Sept 2020. <https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/610507/history-of-yule>.
Wikipedia: yule
“Yule.” The Free Dictionary. n.d. Web. 22 Sept 2020. <https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Yule>.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Chief Hospital Corpsman Helps Hang an Ornament on a Christmas Tree is an Official U.S. Navy Imagery and is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via VisualHunt.
