Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

festival

/ˈfɛstəvəl/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.72 in modern English

Syllables
fes-tiv-al
IPA
/ˈfɛstəvəl/
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Pertaining to a feast or feast day; festive. (Now only as the noun used attributively.)

noun

A feast or feast day.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An event or series of special events centred on the celebration or promotion of some theme or aspect of the community, often held at regular intervals.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

In mythology, a set of celebrations in the honour of a god.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Fried cornbread.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English festival (adjective), from Old French festival (“festive”), from Late Latin fēstīvālis, from Latin fēstīvus (“festive”). By surface analysis, festive + -al. Displaced native Old English frēols. The noun is shortened from festival day, from Middle English festival dai, festiuall day (“feast day, festival”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *dʰeh₁-, festival, fēstīvālis, fēstīvus

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈfɛstəvəl/
  • British English: /ˈfɛstɪvəl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more festival (comparative) most festival (superlative) feastiuall (alternative, obsolete) festivals (plural)

Derived Forms

festie festivalgoer festivalist festivalization festivalize festivally festivalwear festy macrofestival megafestival minifestival nonfestival

Phrases

Bon Festival Car Festival Chung Yueng Festival Da Jiu Festival Double Fifth Festival Double Ninth Festival Double Seventh Festival Dragon Boat Festival

Frequently Paired Words

festal festive festivity festivities heortology festilogy

Synonyms

fete

Questions

How do you pronounce festival?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfɛstəvəl/.
What does festival mean?
Pertaining to a feast or feast day; festive. (Now only as the noun used attributively.)
Where does festival come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce festival

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “festival”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfɛstəvəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “festival”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “festival” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.