Rave

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ɹeɪv/

Definitions

1. To talk about someone or something with great excitement or admiration ; to participate in or be present at a lively party featuring electronic dance music and light shows
2. Expressing intense praise, excitement, or enthusiasm about a person, event, or idea ; taking part in a cultural gathering centered on electronic beats and energetic dancing
3. To describe something or someone with excessive or passionate enthusiasm ; to go to a social event known for continuous electronic music and spirited dancing

Etymology: The verb "rave" in its modern sense of praising enthusiastically sits on top of a much older meaning of wild, delirious talk. Middle English "raven" meant "to rave; talk like a madman," and it reached English from Old French "raver," a variant of "resver," whose own origin is uncertain. Dutch and German cousins such as Middle Dutch "reven," "to utter nonsense," show that the idea of incoherent, feverish speech was shared across the North Sea region. A second strand runs through northern English. There, "raven" was borrowed from Old Norse "ráfa," meaning "to wander, roam," and the two lines of descent seem to have merged into one verb. Behind both lies a shared sense of unsteady, swaying motion, which is also the ancestor of "rove," making the two words doublets that split apart in English. The praising sense is a later development. Enthusiastic approval grew out of the older image of frenzied, unrestrained speech, so that a critic who gushed about a play was, in a sense, still raving.

Synonyms: celebrate, exult, enthuse, applaud, whoop

Antonyms: criticize, condemn, disapprove, disparage, denounce