Carouse

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kəˈɹaʊz/

Definitions

1. To participate in spirited gatherings that involve drinking and socializing in a joyful atmosphere
2. Engaging in festive activities characterized by excessive drinking and a sense of merriment and revelry
3. To take part in boisterous festivities marked by drinking and lively social interaction

Etymology: The verb "carouse" began as a command to drink everything in the glass. Its ancestor is German "gar aus," meaning "all out" or "quite out," which joined with "austrinken" ("drink up entirely") to form "gar austrinken," a phrase for guzzling a drink to the last drop. Speakers of Middle French took this drinking call into their language as "carousser," meaning "to quaff" or "to swill," and it was this sense that carried the word onward. The idea of emptying the cup was the original core, and the modern sense of a lively, sociable party grew out of the heavy drinking that such toasts encouraged. The English form kept that boisterous character, so the word has always suggested more noise and excess than a quiet glass with friends.

Synonyms: revel, celebrate, party, frolic, gambol

Antonyms: mourn, grieve, sulk, depress, frown