Bacchanalia

[ bak-uh-ney-lee-uh, -neyl-yuh ]
See synonyms for Bacchanalia on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural Bac·cha·na·li·a, Bac·cha·na·li·as.
  1. (sometimes used with a plural verb) a festival in honor of Bacchus.: Compare Dionysia.

  2. (lowercase) a drunken feast; orgy.

Origin of Bacchanalia

1
1625–35; <Latin equivalent to Bacch(us) + -ān(us) -an + -ālia, neuter plural of -ālis-al1; probably modeled on volcānālia.See Saturnalia

Other words from Bacchanalia

  • bac·cha·na·li·an, adjective, noun
  • bac·cha·na·li·an·ism, noun

Words Nearby Bacchanalia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for bacchanalia

bacchanalia

/ (ˌbækəˈneɪlɪə) /


pl n
  1. (often capital) orgiastic rites associated with Bacchus

  2. any drunken revelry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012