ceilidh
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of ceilidh
From Irish céilidhe, Scots Gaelic cèilidh, Middle Irish célide, derivative of Old Irish céile “companion”
Explanation
A ceilidh is an Irish or Scottish dance party with live music. If you have the chance to go to a ceilidh, you'll love learning group dances, often performed in a ring formation, and you might even see traditional step dancing. The earliest ceilidhs were simple parties without any music or dancing, or even informal social visits. The word comes from the Old Irish céle, "companion," and literally means "visit" in Gaelic. Modern ceilidhs are much more festive than an ordinary visit, and can feature fiddlers, singers, flutes, accordions, and more. Ceilidhs are quite common in Scotland (and Ireland, where they're spelled cèili), and their popularity extends to the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There will be a series of family-friendly events at the National Museum of Scotland for Sprogmanay, as well as a family ceilidh at Assembly Roxy.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
Calum first learned about traditional music in his school ceilidh band.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2024
"We will take everyone through town to the Northern Meeting Park where the ceilidh begins with the crème de la crème of Scotland's traditional music scene."
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2023
The three-day event kicks off with a traditional ceilidh at Kelvin Hall, with the dance programme designed by the Hawaii branch.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2023
Even our gossiping, our ceilidh in each other's houses, was stopped; except in the castle itself no more the song and story, the pipe and trump.
From John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn by Munro, Neil
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
