carousal

American  

[kuh-rou-zuhl] / kəˈraʊ zəl /

noun

1. a noisy or drunken feast or social gathering; revelry.

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carousal British  

/ kəˈraʊzəl /

noun

1. a merry drinking party

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Etymology

Origin of carousal

First recorded in 1755–65; carouse + -al ²

Explanation

The noun carousal describes a rowdy gathering that involves drinking too much alcohol. Carousal is said to be a popular pastime of some rock stars. Carousal stumbled into English by way of the French word carousser, meaning, "drink, quaff, swill," which in turn traces back to the German gar austrinken, meaning "to drink up entirely." As you might guess, the word carousal involves drinking — lots of it. A verb form, carouse, carries a related meaning — people carouse at a carousal. In other words, they drink a lot at the booze party.

Example Sentences

But Cecchini says such open-air carousal wasn't an issue at his bars.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2021

Already, we’ve posted the six worst coaching personnel moves of the past year, and in that vein, here are the biggest winners and losers from the 2014-15 NFL coaching carousal.

From Forbes • Feb. 6, 2015

Also, avoid trying to use the classic, rotating carousal for any strategic advantage.

From Washington Times • Jan. 31, 2015

The guests and their wives have flown into Los Angeles on "space available" air flights and are camped gratis in 300 Marriott Hotel rooms for a weekend of caucusing and quiet carousal.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bishop Hall says in his description of a carousal, “Then comes me up a service of shoeing-horns of all sorts,—salt cakes, red-herrings, anchovies, and gammon of bacon, and abundance of such pullers on.”

From Curiosities of Medical Experience by Millingen, J. G. (John Gideon)