Banqueting

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A celebratory event featuring a sumptuous meal shared by guests occurs often to mark a special occasion or achievement
2. A gathering that emphasizes enjoyment through abundant food, drink, and entertainment is often arranged to celebrate important milestones
3. An occasion where people gather to enjoy an elaborate meal together, usually to honor a significant event or person

Etymology: The word "banquet" began as something much humbler than a feast. In Italian, "banchetto" meant a light snack eaten between meals, and its literal sense was "a small bench," a diminutive of "banco." People took these quick bites while seated on benches, and the seat gave the food its name. That Italian "banco" came from Lombardic "bank" (a bench), which traces back to the Proto-Germanic "bankiz," meaning the same thing. The same root gave English "bench" and "bank" in its older sense of a long seat, as well as Old High German "bank." So a banquet and a bank, a bench and a riverbank all share a distant ancestor in the idea of a raised seat or ledge. English borrowed the word through Middle French "banquet" and then Middle English "banket." The "w" in the modern spelling was added later, not by etymology but through spelling-pronunciation, when writers began to pronounce it with a "w" sound that the original word never had.

Synonyms: feasting, dining, celebrating, revelry, gala