Celebrants

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. People who actively take part in festivities or commemorative events
2. Those who engage in ceremonies to acknowledge and celebrate special occasions
3. People who join together to enjoy a festive occasion ; those who conduct or officiate a formal event or ritual

Etymology: "Celebrants" is simply the plural of "celebrant," and the singular is the more interesting half of the story. It comes from French "célébrant," which in turn descends from the Latin "celebrāns," the present participle of "celebrō," meaning to frequent, honour, or celebrate. The Latin verb is built on "celeber," meaning crowded or much-visited, so the root idea is of a place or event thronged with people. That sense of a gathering in numbers survives in the modern word, which is why a celebrant is someone taking part in a rite rather than simply watching it. The Latin suffix "-ant," which marks an agent who performs an action, was attached to the verb "celebrate" to produce the noun. English has long used the form for those officiating at or participating in religious and public ceremonies, and the plural simply counts the people involved.

Synonyms: participants, attendees, worshipers, commemorators, honorees