Etymologically
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celebrate

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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
  • 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