Etymologically
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festa

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈfeːs.ta], [ˈfeːs.taː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈfɛs.ta], [ˈfɛs.ta][1]

Forms

fēsta f (genitive fēstae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin festum (“feast, holiday”), whose plural ⟨fēsta⟩ was taken as a feminine singular,[1][2] which is the noun of fēstus (“festive”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a Medieval Latin word of charters, meaning a feast or festival.[3][1]

Semantic evolution

Beside a feast or party,[1][3] Du Cange records it for an offering made at the three chief feasts of the year.[4] It is the source of Italian festa,[2] Spanish fiesta and French fête.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A feast, festival, party.[1][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) An offering made at the chief feasts of the year.[4]

Usage notes

In Classical and Church Latin fēsta is the plural of festum, “feasts”.[5] A different medieval festa, of Germanic origin, meant the ridge or ridge-beam of a roof.[6][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill