Raver

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who engages in spirited celebrations often centered around electronic dance music and a vibrant lifestyle
2. An individual who takes part in energetic late-night parties that showcase a particular music genre and cultural scene
3. A participant known for attending lively gatherings that celebrate electronic music and embody a distinct youth culture

Etymology: "Raver" looks like a simple agent noun, but its path to the modern dance floor runs through a medieval verb meaning to wander in mind or speech. In Middle English, "rave" meant to wander or talk wildly, sometimes in the sense of being out of one's wits, and the "-er" ending turned that action into a person who did it. The earliest forms, "ravere", "ravare" and "rafar", show how spelling settled over time before the word stabilised. The sense of a person who revels has little to do with madness. It grew from the older idea of raving as unrestrained noise and excess, and in the late twentieth century British club culture picked up the word for those who went to all-night electronic dance events. The shift from a figure of disordered speech to a figure of ecstatic dancing is one of the more surprising reversals in everyday English.

Synonyms: party-goer, celebrant

Antonyms: homebody