Orgie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A festive assembly where numerous individuals partake in licentious sexual activities collectively
2. A communal gathering defined by unrestrained sexual encounters and indulgence among multiple participants
3. A social event characterized by uncontrolled revelry and hedonistic behavior among many attendees

Etymology: The English "orgy" began life as a plural. Its ancestor was the Ancient Greek "órgia," which referred to secret rites, particularly those of cults such as the worship of Dionysus, where initiates kept their ceremonies hidden from outsiders. The Latin "orgia" carried the same sense of mysterious religious observances, and the word came into French as "orgies," still in the plural. English borrowed the word from French in that plural form, so speakers at first treated "orgies" as the normal way to say it, and the singular "orgy" was only formed later from it. The earlier spelling "orgie," which is the form you asked about, is now obsolete. The shift from sacred secrecy to riotous partying came about because outsiders' accounts of these rites focused on their wild, drunken character, and the word gradually lost its religious associations.

Synonyms: orgy