English → Latin
“festival” in Latin
fēstusOf or pertaining to holidays; festive, festal, joyful, merry.sollemnisyearly, annual; established, appointed, fixed; common, usual, customary, ordinary, ritual, traditionalTibullusA Roman cognomen — famously held byalbātusclothed in whitehilarischeerful, lively, light-hearted, merry, jovialepulumfeast, banquet, festive entertainment; dishes, meats.; food.fēriaea holy day; a festival; a holiday; a vacation; any occasion of rest, peace, or leisure
The English word festival itself goes back to Latin fēstus, through fēstīvālis.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
festival adj.
festus: sollemnis (celebrated at certain times of the year, etc.): festus ac sollemnis. Festival attire, virilis ornatus dierum sollemnium (of men); mundus muliebris, qui ad dies festos comparatur (of women; both Col. 12, 3, 1): a festival garb or garment, dierum sollemnium vestis (after Col. 12, 3, 1); vestis seposita (i. e., the dress that is kept for particular occasions; Tibullus, 2, 5, 8, Bach.): in a festival garb, candide vestitus; albatus (opposed to atratus: Vid: Plaut., Cas., 4, 1, 9; Hor., Sat., 2, 2, 61, Heindorf): ☞ toga feriata (Plin., Ep., 7, 3, 2, = toga, quae feriatur): festival song, carmen laetum: a festival day; Vid. FESTIVAL, s.
festival s.
As a single day, dies festus: dies sollemnis: dies festus ac sollemnis (the anniversary of anything, or a feast celebrated every year): sollemne (if attended by a sacrifice): dies feriatus (opposed to dies profestus, Plin., 18, 6, 8, No. 1): festum is poetical only.
Without reference to its being confined to a single day, sollemnia feriae dies: festi (sollemnia, as far as they are solemn or regularly returning days; feriae, so far as they are days of rest or recreation; festa, or, in prose, dies festi, so far as they are days of rejoicing, Döderlein): hilaria, ium, plur. (a feast in honor of Cybele): dies laeti (joyful days, in general): epulae, quae fiunt ex laetitia (if the festival is attended by a banquet; Vid: Liv., 22, 50, in.): that day was a national festival, laetissimus ille dies civitati illuxit: to decree that the anniversary of a victory should be observed as a solemn festival, decernere, ut inter festos dies referatur (dies), quo victoria patrata sit (Tac., Ann., 13, 14, 4). ☞ Avoid festivitas, which is wrong, as well as the later sollemnitas. OBS. For “the festival of such or such a god, *the Romans had particular names, mostly in the neuter plur.; as, Consualia, Palilia, etc. A marriage festival, sollemnia nuptiarum (Suet., Tac.). To celebrate a festival, diem festum agere; during three days, per triduum.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for festival?
- The usual Latin words for “festival” are fēstus, sollemnis, Tibullus; also albātus, hilaris, epulum. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.