SYNONYMS | EXAMPLES | WORD ORIGIN noun a lavish meal; feast.
a ceremonious public dinner, especially one honoring a person, benefiting a charity, etc.
verb (used with object), ban·quet·ed, ban·quet·ing. to entertain or regale with a banquet: They banqueted the visiting prime minister in grand style.
verb (used without object), ban·quet·ed, ban·quet·ing. to have or attend a banquet; feast: They banqueted on pheasant, wild boar, and three kinds of fish.
Origin of banquet 1425–75; <
Middle French <
Italian banchetto (
banc(o ) table (see
bank2 ) +
-etto -et ); replacing
late Middle English banket <
Middle French Related forms ban·quet·er , ban·que·teer [bang-kwi-teer ] /ˌbæŋ kwɪˈtɪər/ noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for banquet Contemporary Examples of banquet The banquet was paid for with public funds, and taxpayers were understandably upset.
A table creaking under the weight of a Christmas banquet , a classic celebration of binge eating and drinking.
Another island tale purports that there was once a banquet arranged at the manor for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
These are the reasons why Marzel tapped me on the shoulder at a Kahanist banquet —I was a Kahanist posterboy.
“You are my hero,” said Baruch Marzel, the militant leader of the Jewish National Front, as he embraced me at a banquet in 2006.
Historical Examples of banquet The banquet drew to its conclusion, and the guests departed.
For this purpose, my honored guests, I have ordered a banquet to be prepared.
Then wine was brought in, and the banquet was served to the sound of music.
When the banquet was ended he slept in the Palace of Frozen Radiance.
Tents were put up on the edge of the saucer and a banquet was prepared.
British Dictionary definitions for banquet noun a lavish and sumptuous meal; feast
a ceremonial meal for many people, often followed by speeches
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verb -quets , -queting or -queted (intr) to hold or take part in a banquet
(tr) to entertain or honour (a person) with a banquet
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Derived Forms banqueter , noun Word Origin for banquet C15: from Old French, from Italian banchetto , from banco a table, of Germanic origin; see bank 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for banquet n. late 15c., "feast, sumptuous entertainment," from French banquet (15c.; in Old French only "small bench"), from Old Italian banchetto , diminutive of banco "bench;" originally a snack eaten on a bench (rather than at table), hence "a slight repast between meals;" the meaning has entirely reversed. As a verb from 1510s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
