celebrate

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsel.ə.breɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin celebrātus (“much frequented; kept solemn; famous”), the past participle of celebrāre,^[2][3] originally “to attend in great numbers”, then “to assemble to honour, to sing the praises of”,^[2][3] from celeber “frequented, crowded, well-known”.^[2][3] Etymonline calls the origin of celeber unknown,^[2] while Barnhart and MWU relate it to celer “swift”, the source of celerity.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To perform publicly with due rites, originally of the Mass: 1465 in Barnhart, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.^[3][2] The participial adjective, performed with due rites, is from 1471 in the OED,^[5] and the verb from 1564 (absolutely, of the eucharist, 1534).^[5]

Semantic evolution

To observe a festival or day with solemn rites is from 1560,^[5] and to commemorate or honour with shows of joy from the 1550s; it could formerly be done with signs of sorrow too.^[2] To make publicly known is from 1597,^[5] and to praise or glorify from the 1610s (1611 in the OED).^[2][5] Celebrated, famous, is from 1586, in Marlowe's Tamburlaine.^[3] The intransitive sense, to have a party or enjoy oneself, is recorded by the AHD and Collins.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1465 – to perform with rites.^[3]
• 1550s – to honour with rejoicing.^[2]
• 1560 – to observe a festival.^[5]
• 1586 – celebrated, famous.^[3]
• 1597 – to make known.^[5]
• 1611 – to praise.^[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To do something enjoyable for a special occasion or success.
2. To mark an anniversary or festival with ceremonies or a party.
3. To perform a religious ceremony, especially the Mass.
4. To praise someone or something publicly.

Word family

• celebration
• celebrator
• celebrative
• celebratory
• concelebrate
• precelebrate
• recelebrate

Related words

• celebrant
• celebrated
• celebrity
• celerity

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins