Festivities

How to spell festivities

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce festivities

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does festivities mean?

1. nounActivities or events held to celebrate a special occasion.

Festivities in a sentence

• The wedding festivities continued late into the night.

• Holiday festivities began once the office closed for the year.

Where does festivities come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin festivus, meaning 'merry' or 'festive', which itself grew from festum, a 'feast' or 'holiday', and the broader root festus, meaning 'joyous' and connected to religious holy days. The Latin noun festivitas described gaiety, cheerfulness, and the celebration of a feast. English took the word in through Old French festivite during the late 1300s, originally pointing to the merriment of a feast day. Over time the plural 'festivities' came to mean the activities and entertainments that make up a celebration. The same festum root sits inside the everyday words 'feast', 'festival', and 'fiesta', which is a helpful reminder that the tricky middle is spelled fest-iv, not fest-eve.

How the word is built

• festiv- (from festivus: merry, festive)
• -ity (state/quality)
• -es (plural)