English Explanatory Dictionary

celebrate

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To extol or honour in a solemn manner.
To honour by rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly.
To engage in joyful activity in appreciation of an event.
To perform or participate in, as a sacrament or solemn rite; to perform with appropriate rites.

Pronunciation

/ˈsɛl.ɪ.bɹeɪt/ /ˈsɛl.ə.bɹeɪt/ en-us-celebrate.ogg /ˈsel.ə.bɹæɪt/ /sɛ(ː).le.breːʈ/

Word forms

celebrate celebrates celebrating celebrated no-table-tags glossary celebratest celebratedst celebrateth

Etymology

From Middle English celebraten, from celebrat(e) (“celebrated”, also used as the past participle of celebraten) + -en, borrowed from Latin celebrātus, perfect passive participle of celebrō (“frequent, go to in great numbers, celebrate, honor, praise”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from celeber (“frequented, populous”). Displaced native Old English fæġnian.

Synonyms

Related words

celebrant celebrated celebration celebrative celebrator celebratory celebrity

Derived words

celebratable celebrate one's 19th birthday in Poland celebrating Palm Sunday concelebrate over-celebrate overcelebrate precelebrate recelebrate

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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