LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

fēstus1

fēstus (feminine fēsta, neuter fēstum)
Classical[ˈfeːs.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈfɛs.tus]

Meaning

  1. adjectiveOf or pertaining to holidays; festive, festal, joyful, merry.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Solemnia · Feriæ · Dies festi · Festa

Solemnia means festivals, so far as they are solemn or regularly returning institutions; feriæ, so far as they are days of rest and recreation; festa, or, in prose, dies festi, so far as they are days of rejoicing. (vi. 339.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativefēstusfēstafēstum
genitivefēstīfēstaefēstī
dativefēstōfēstaefēstō
accusativefēstumfēstamfēstum
ablativefēstōfēstāfēstō
vocativefēstefēstafēstum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativefēstīfēstaefēsta
genitivefēstōrumfēstārumfēstōrum
dativefēstīsfēstīsfēstīs
accusativefēstōsfēstāsfēsta
ablativefēstīsfēstīsfēstīs
vocativefēstīfēstaefēsta

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

diem festum agere (of an individual)
to keep, celebrate a festival.
diem festum celebrare (of a larger number)
to keep, celebrate a festival.

festus, a, um, adj. Sanscr. bhas, shine; lengthened from bha-; Gr. φα-, φαίνω, v. for; cf. feriae (fes-iae), orig.,
I. of or belonging to the holidays (in opp. to the working-days), solemn, festive, festal, joyful, merry.
I. Lit.
A. Adj. (syn.: sollennis, fastus).
1. With expressions of time: festo die si quid prodegeris, profesto egere liceat, Plaut. Aul. 2, 8, 10: die festo celebri nobilique, id. Poen. 3, 5, 13: qui (dies) quasi deorum immortalium festi atque sollennes, apud omnes sunt celebrati, Cic. Pis. 22, 51: Syracusani festos dies anniversarios agunt, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 48, § 107; id. Q. Fr. 2, 1, 1: dies festus ludorum celeberrimus et sanctissimus, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 67, § 151; id. Fin. 5, 24, 70: lux, Ov. Tr. 5, 5, 42; Hor. C. 4, 6, 42: tempus, id. Ep. 2, 1, 140; Juv. 15, 38: observare festa sabbata, id. 6, 159.—Hence,
2. Transf., of everything relating to holidays: chori, Ov. Tr. 5, 12, 8: clamores, Plin. Ep. 2, 17, 24: corona, Ov. M. 10, 598; cf. fronde, Verg. A. 4, 459: dapes, Hor. Epod. 9, 1: mensae, Sil. 7, 198; Val. Fl. 3, 159: lusus, Mart. 1, 1: pagus, Hor. C. 3, 18, 11: urbs, gay, merry, Sil. 11, 272; 12, 752: theatra, Ov. M. 3, 111: Lares, Mart. 3, 58, 23: licentiae, of the holidays, Quint. 6, 3, 17: pax, Ov. M. 2, 795; Plin. 14, 1, 1, § 23: plebs, Tac. A. 2, 69: domus ornatu, id. ib. 3, 9: ritus, id. H. 5, 5: omina, id. A. 5, 4: cespes, Juv. 12, 2: janua, id. 12, 91.—As a term of endearment: mi animule, mea vita, mea festivitas, meus dies festus, etc., my holiday, Plaut. Cas. 1, 49.—
B. Subst.: festum, i, n., a holiday, festival; a festal banquet, feast (poet. and late Lat. for dies festus): cur igitur Veneris festum Vinalia dicant, Quaeritis? Ov. F. 4, 877; 1, 190; id. M. 4, 390: forte Jovi festum Phoebus sollenne parabat, feast, id. F. 2, 247: cum dii omnes ad festum magnae matris convenissent, Lact. 1, 21, 25.—In plur.: Idaeae festa parentis erunt, Ov. F. 4, 182: festa venatione absumi, Plin. 6, 22, 24, § 91; Ov. M. 4, 33; 10, 431; Hor. Epod. 2, 59; id. Ep. 2, 2, 197; Vulg. Exod. 23, 14 al.; Greg. Mag. Homil. in Evang. 2, 26, 10; Lact. 1, 22, 24.—
II. Meton., public, solemn, festal, festive, joyous (post-Aug. and rare): dolor, Stat. S. 2, 7, 134: festior annus, Claud. III. Cons. Hon. 3: festissimi dies, Vop. Tac. 11: aures, i. e. gladdened, Claud. B. G. 206 (but in Stat. S. 2, 7, 90 the right read. is fata).

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰéh₁s
  3. Latinfēstus

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁stosder. Proto-Italic *θēstos Proto-Italic *fēstosder. Latin festus From Proto-Italic *fēstos, from earlier *θēstos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁s-tos, from *dʰéh₁s (“god, godhead, deity; sacred place”). See also fānum and fēriae.

Descendants
  • Englishfeast
  • Frenchfête
  • Italianfesto
  • Italianfesta
  • Portuguesefesto
proper noun · masculinesecond declension
Fēstus2
Fēstus m sg (genitive Fēstī)
Classical[ˈfeːs.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈfɛs.tus]

Meaning

  1. A Roman cognomen — famously held by
  2. Sextus Pompeius Festus, a Roman grammarian

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeFēstus—
genitiveFēstī—
dativeFēstō—
accusativeFēstum—
ablativeFēstō—
vocativeFēste—

Festus, i, m.,
I. a Roman surname.
I. Sex. Pompeius Festus, a Roman grammarian of the fourth century A. D., author of a lexicographical work, De verborum significatione, in twenty books, of which only the last nine, in a very imperfect form, remain to us; with an abstract of the whole compiled by Paulus Diaconus in the eighth century. (Edited by Ottfr. Müller.)—
II. Portius Festus, Governor of the Roman Province of Judea, Vulg. Acts, 25, 32 al.

Origins

From fēstus (“joyful, merry”).

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

Biography & mythologyFestusFestus. a favourite freedman aud remembrancer (τῆς βασιλείαρ μνήμης προεστώς) of Caracalla, by whom he was buried in the Troad, with all the ceremonie…

Quick answers

What does fēstus mean in Latin?
fēstus, a adjective, means “Of or pertaining to holidays; festive, festal, joyful, merry.”.
How do you pronounce fēstus?
In classical Latin, [ˈfeːs.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈfɛs.tus].
Where does fēstus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- → Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s → Latin fēstus.