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Webster 1913 Edition


Anniversary

Anˊni-ver′sa-ry

,
Adj.
[L.
anniversarius
;
annus
year +
vertere
,
versum
, to turn: cf. F.
anniversaire
.]
Returning with the year, at a stated time; annual; yearly;
as, an
anniversary
feast
.
Anniversary day
(R. C. Ch.)
.
See
Anniversary
,
Noun.
, 2.
Anniversary week
,
that week in the year in which the annual meetings of religious and benevolent societies are held in Boston and New York.
[Eastern U. S.]

Anˊni-ver′sa-ry

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Anniversaries
.
[Cf. F.
anniversaire
.]
1.
The annual return of the day on which any notable event took place, or is wont to be celebrated;
as, the
anniversary
of the Declaration of Independence
.
2.
(R. C. Ch.)
The day on which Mass is said yearly for the soul of a deceased person; the commemoration of some sacred event, as the dedication of a church or the consecration of a pope.
3.
The celebration which takes place on an anniversary day.
Dryden.

Webster 1828 Edition


Anniversary

ANNIVERS'ARY

,
Adj.
[L. anniversarius, of annus, year, and verto, to turn.]
Returning with the year, at a stated time; annual; yearly; as an anniversary feast.

ANNIVERS'ARY

,
Noun.
1.
A stated day returning with the revolution of the year. The term is applied to a day on which some remarkable event is annually celebrated, or a day on which an interesting event is commemorated by solemnities of religion, or exhibitions of respect. In the Romish church, a day in which an office is yearly performed for the souls of the deceased.
2.
The act of celebration; performance in honor of an event.

Definition 2024


anniversary

anniversary

English

Noun

anniversary (plural anniversaries)

  1. Of a significant event, a day that is an exact number of years (to the day) since the event occurred. Often preceded by an ordinal number indicating the number of years that have elapsed since the event.
    Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war.
  2. (loosely) A day subsequent in time to a given event by some (especially significant) factor other than a year (especially as prefixed by the amount of time in question).
    • 1984, ‘Never Mind the Tranquil Facade’, Time, 27 Feb 1984:
      The occasion was the six-month anniversary of the Aug. 8 coup that brought General Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores to power.
    • 2002, ‘Politics this Week’, The Economist, 14 Mar 2002:
      In a thinly veiled threat to Saddam Hussein, President George Bush marked the six-month anniversary of September 11th by reiterating America's commitment to prevent rogue countries obtaining weapons of mass destruction.
    • 2006, DB Schrock, Soulmonger Dot Com, p. 28:
      Jonathon proposed to his mom on their three-month anniversary of meeting and married her on their fourth.
  3. (more specifically) Such, where the event is a wedding.
    We are celebrating our tenth anniversary today.

Synonyms

Translations

See also