Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Feast

Feast

(fēst)
,
Noun.
[OE.
feste
festival, holiday, feast, OF.
feste
festival, F.
fête
, fr. L.
festum
, pl.
festa
, fr.
festus
joyful, festal; of uncertain origin. Cf.
Fair
,
Noun.
,
Festal
,
Fête
.]
1.
A festival; a holiday; a solemn, or more commonly, a joyous, anniversary.
The seventh day shall be a
feast
to the Lord.
Ex. xiii. 6.
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
feast
of the passover.
Luke ii. 41.
☞ An Ecclesiastical
feast
is called a
immovable feast
when it always occurs on the same day of the year; otherwise it is called a
movable feast
. Easter is a notable
movable feast
.
2.
A festive or joyous meal; a grand, ceremonious, or sumptuous entertainment, of which many guests partake; a banquet characterized by tempting variety and abundance of food.
Enough is as good as a
feast
.
Old Proverb.
Belshazzar the King made a great
feast
to a thousand of his lords.
Dan. v. 1.
3.
That which is partaken of, or shared in, with delight; something highly agreeable; entertainment.
The
feast
of reason, and the flow of soul.
Pope.
Syn. – Entertainment; regale; banquet; treat; carousal; festivity; festival.
Feast
,
Banquet
,
Festival
,
Carousal
. A feast sets before us viands superior in quantity, variety, and abundance; a banquet is a luxurious feast; a festival is the joyful celebration by good cheer of some agreeable event. Carousal is unrestrained indulgence in frolic and drink.

Feast

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Feasted
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Feasting
.]
[OE.
festen
, cf. OF.
fester
to rest from work, F.
fêter
to celebrate a holiday. See
Feast
,
Noun.
]
1.
To eat sumptuously; to dine or sup on rich provisions, particularly in large companies, and on public festivals.
And his sons went and
feasted
in their houses.
Job. i. 4.
2.
To be highly gratified or delighted.
With my love’s picture then my eye doth
feast
.
Shakespeare

Feast

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To entertain with sumptuous provisions; to treat at the table bountifully;
as, he was
feasted
by the king
.
Hayward.
2.
To delight; to gratify;
as, to
feast
the soul
.
Feast
your ears with the music a while.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition


Feast

FEAST

,
Noun.
[L. festum.]
1.
A sumptuous repast or entertainment, of which a number of guests partake; particularly, a rich or splendid public entertainment.
On Pharaoh's birth day, he made a feast to all his servants. Gen. 40.
2.
A rich or delicious repast or meal; something delicious to the palate.
3.
A ceremony of feasting; joy and thanksgiving on stated days, in commemoration of some great event, or in honor of some distinguished personage; an anniversary, periodical or stated celebration of some event; a festival; as on occasion of the games in Greece, and the feast of the passover, the feast of Pentecost, and the feast of tabernacles among the Jews.
4.
Something delicious and entertaining to the mind or soul; as the dispensation of the gospel is called a feast of fat things. Is. 25.
5.
That which delights and entertains.
He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.
Prov. 15.
In the English church, feasts are immovable or movable; immovable, when they occur on the same day of the year, as Christmas day, &c.; and movable, when they are not confined to the same day of the year, as Easter, which regulates many others.

FEAST

, v.i.
1.
To eat sumptuously; to dine or sup on rich provisions; particularly in large companies, and on public festivals.
And his sons went and feasted in their houses. Job 1.
2.
To be highly gratified or delighted.

FEAST

, v.t.
1.
To entertain with sumptuous provisions; to treat at the table magnificently; as, he was feasted by the king.
2.
To delight; to pamper; to gratify luxuriously; as, to feast the soul.
Whose taste or smell can bless the feasted sense.

Definition 2024


feast

feast

English

Noun

feast (plural feasts)

  1. A very large meal, often of a ceremonial nature.
    We had a feast to celebrate the harvest.
  2. Something delightful
    It was a feast for the eyes.
  3. A festival; a holiday; a solemn, or more commonly, a joyous, anniversary.
    • Bible, Exodus xiii. 6
      The seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord.
    • Bible, Luke ii. 41
      Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English feesten, festen, from Old French fester, from Medieval Latin festāre, from the noun. See above.

Verb

feast (third-person singular simple present feasts, present participle feasting, simple past and past participle feasted)

  1. (intransitive) To partake in a feast, or large meal.
    I feasted on turkey and dumplings.
  2. (intransitive) To dwell upon (something) with delight.
    • Shakespeare
      With my love's picture then my eye doth feast.
  3. (transitive) To hold a feast in honor of (someone).
    We feasted them after the victory.
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To serve as a feast for; to feed sumptuously.
    • Bishop Joseph Hall
      Or once a week, perhaps, for novelty / Reez'd bacon-soords shall feast his family.
Derived terms
Translations

Anagrams