festive

English

Etymology

From French festif, from Latin festivus (“pertaining to a feast, gay, lively, joyous”). Equivalent to feast +‎ -ive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛstɪv/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fes‧tive
• Rhymes: -ɛstɪv

Adjective

festive (comparative more festive, superlative most festive)

1. Having the atmosphere, decoration, or attitude of a festival, holiday, or celebration.

   The room was decked out in festive streamers, with flowers everywhere.

2. In the mood to celebrate.

   Please put the Christmas decorations away, I'm really not in a festive mood.

Synonyms

• feastful
• feastly

Derived terms

• festive season

Translations

having the atmosphere, decoration, or attitude of a festival, holiday, or celebration

• Armenian: տոնական (hy) (tonakan)
• Bulgarian: празничен (prazničen), тържествен (bg) (tǎržestven)
• Catalan: festiu
• Czech: slavnostní (cs)
• Danish: festlig
• Dutch: feestelijk (nl), feestelijke (nl)
• Esperanto: festa (eo)
• Finnish: juhlava (fi)
• French: festif (fr) m, festive (fr) f
• Georgian: მხიარული (mxiaruli)
• German: festlich (de)
• Greek: γιορτινός (el) (giortinós), εορταστικός (el) (eortastikós)
• Hungarian: ünnepi (hu)
• Italian: festivo (it) m, festiva (it) f
• Latin: festus, festivus (la)
• Macedonian: празничен (prazničen)
• Polish: biesiadny (pl)
• Romanian: festiv (ro)
• Russian: пра́здничный (ru) (prázdničnyj)
• Yiddish: יום־טובֿדיק (yontefdik)

French

Adjective

festive

1. feminine singular of festif

Italian

Adjective

festive

1. feminine plural of festivo

Latin

Etymology

From fēstīvus (“joyous, festive; pleasing”), from fēstus (“feast-like; festive”).

Adverb

fēstīvē (not comparable)

1. agreeably, pleasantly, delightfully
2. humorously, facetiously, wittily

Related terms

• fēstīvālis
• fēstīvitās
• fēstīviter
• fēstīvum
• fēstīvus
• fēstum
• fēstus

 

References

• “festive”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “festive”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• festive in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.