Related Searches
on Ask.com
Browse Nearby Entries
ceremony
6 dictionary results for: ceremony
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
cer·e·mo·ny 
[ser-uh-moh-nee] Pronunciation Key
[ser-uh-moh-nee] Pronunciation Key –noun, plural -nies.
—Idiom
| 1. | the formal activities conducted on some solemn or important public or state occasion: the coronation ceremony. |
| 2. | a formal religious or sacred observance; a solemn rite: a marriage ceremony. |
| 3. | formal observances or gestures collectively; ceremonial observances: The breathless messenger had no time for ceremony. |
| 4. | any formal act or observance, esp. a meaningless one: His low bow was mere ceremony. |
| 5. | a gesture or act of politeness or civility: the ceremony of a handshake. |
| 6. | strict adherence to conventional forms; formality: to leave a room without ceremony. |
| 7. | stand on ceremony, to behave in a formal or ceremonious manner. |
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME ceremonie < ML céremōnia, L caerimōnia sacred rite; r. ME cerymonye < MF cerimonie < L, as above]
] —Synonyms 1, 2. Ceremony, rite, ritual refer to set observances and acts traditional in religious services or on public occasions. Ceremony applies to more or less formal dignified acts on religious or public occasions: a marriage ceremony; an inaugural ceremony. A rite is an established, prescribed, or customary form of religious or other solemn practice: the rite of baptism. Ritual refers to the form of conducting worship or to a code of ceremonies in general: Masonic rituals.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| cer·e·mo·ny
(sěr'ə-mō'nē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. cer·e·mo·nies
[Middle English ceremonie, from Latin caerimōnia, religious rite.] |
(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ceremony
ceremony
c.1380, from M.L. ceremonia, from L. cærimonia "awe, reverent rite," an obscure word, possibly of Etruscan origin, or a reference to the ancient rites performed by the Etruscan pontiffs at Caere, near Rome. Introduced in Eng. by Wyclif.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| ceremony | |
noun | |
| 1. | a formal event performed on a special occasion; "a ceremony commemorating Pearl Harbor" |
| 2. | any activity that is performed in an especially solemn elaborate or formal way; "the ceremony of smelling the cork and tasting the wine"; "he makes a ceremony of addressing his golf ball"; "he disposed of it without ceremony" |
| 3. | the proper or conventional behavior on some solemn occasion; "an inaugural ceremony" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This
ceremony
see stand on (ceremony).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Ceremony
Cer"e*mo*ny\, n.; pl. Ceremonies. [F. c['e]r['e]monie, L. caerimonia; perh. akin to E. create and from a root signifying to do or make.]1. Ar act or series of acts, often of a symbolical character, prescribed by law, custom, or authority, in the conduct of important matters, as in the performance of religious duties, the transaction of affairs of state, and the celebration of notable events; as, the ceremony of crowning a sovereign; the ceremonies observed in consecrating a church; marriage and baptismal ceremonies. According to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof shall ye keep it [the Passover]. --Numb. ix. 3 Bring her up the high altar, that she may The sacred ceremonies there partake. --Spenser. [The heralds] with awful ceremony And trumpet's sound, throughout the host proclaim A solemn council. --Milton. 2. Behavior regulated by strict etiquette; a formal method of performing acts of civility; forms of civility prescribed by custom or authority. Ceremony was but devised at first To set a gloss on . . . hollow welcomes . . . But where there is true friendship there needs none. --Shak. Al ceremonies are in themselves very silly things; but yet a man of the world should know them. --Chesterfield. 3. A ceremonial symbols; an emblem, as a crown, scepter, garland, etc. [Obs.] Disrobe the images, If you find them decked with ceremonies. . . . Let no images Be hung with C[ae]sar's trophies. --Shak. 4. A sign or prodigy; a portent. [Obs.] C[ae]sar, I never stood on ceremonies, Yet, now they fright me. --Shak. Master of ceremonies, an officer who determines the forms to be observed, or superintends their observance, on a public occasion. Not to stand on ceremony, not to be ceremonious; to be familiar, outspoken, or bold.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Share This:
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.