festival

The word “festival” means an organised series of events celebrating a particular theme, art form, or occasion. In plain terms, a planned celebration or series of events, whether cultural, religious, or artistic.

“Festival” is pronounced FEHS-tihvl (/ˈfɛstəv(ə)l/ in IPA).

Here is “festival” used in a sentence: “They spent the weekend at a music festival.”

“Festival” is a noun.

The word “festival” comes from Latin. From Old French festival, "festive," from Latin festivus, ultimately from festum, "feast.".

“Festival” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Festival” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an organised series of events celebrating a particular theme, art form, or occasion.

Festivals come in many forms: music festivals, film festivals, food and drink festivals, arts festivals, and religious or cultural celebrations such as Diwali or Christmas. Some last a single day, others run for weeks. What they share is a planned series of events built around one theme or occasion.

A festival is a broad term for an organised series of events celebrating a theme or occasion. A carnival is one particular kind, usually a lively public celebration with parades, costumes, music, and street processions. So every carnival is a festival, but many festivals — a quiet film festival, for example — are not carnivals.

Famous examples include the Glastonbury and Coachella music festivals, the Cannes Film Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe arts festival, and cultural celebrations like Diwali, Holi, or Oktoberfest. Each gathers people around a shared theme — music, film, art, faith, or food — through a planned programme of events.