feast

• enPR: fēst, IPA^(key): /fiːst/

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• Rhymes: -iːst

From Middle English feeste, feste, borrowed from Old French feste, from Late Latin festa, from the plural of Latin festum (“holiday, festival, feast”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁s (“god, godhead, deity”); see also Ancient Greek θεός (theós, “god, goddess”). More at theo-.

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 holy day or 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.

• banquet

• afterfeast
• feast-day
• feast for the eyes
• feastful
• feastly
• forefeast
• love-feast

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

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.

• feaster
• feast one’s eyes

• Fates, Festa, TAFEs, fates, feats, festa, fetas