charivari
Americannoun
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charivaris
plural
noun
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a discordant mock serenade to newlyweds, made with pans, kettles, etc
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a confused noise; din
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of charivari
< French, Middle French, of obscure origin; said to be < Late Latin carībaria headache < Greek karēbaría, equivalent to karē-, combining form of kárā, kárē head + -baria ( bar ( ys ) heavy + -ia -ia ), on the hypothesis that such a noisy procession would cause a headache
Vocabulary lists containing charivari
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.
See Examples For:
I learned about charivari, a folk custom in France in which people mock-serenaded weddings they disapproved of, adding to the proceedings “the stench of a donkey carcass being burned.”
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2020
Young people also expressed their opinion of the moral conduct of elders, in traditions known as charivari or "rough music".
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2014
It is what the charivari of outraged Usenet denizens did to Portal and Internet Direct as vengeance, swamping the servers with furious mail and big, capacity-consuming image files.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 20, 2013
We have appealed to the sheriff but the charivari is still going on.
From Time Magazine Archive
Upon a given signal, the clerical orchestra executed an overture harsh enough to frighten Satan himself, the lay congregation beating time with their hands to the charivari of clanging instruments and ear-splitting voices.
From Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China During the years 1844-5-6. Volume 1 [of 2] by Evariste Regis Huc
It is hung about with garlands, like the garlands of the cemeteries on All Saints Day; it may be celebrated in song, or jeered at in charivaris.
From The Journal of Negro History, Volume 2, 1917 by Various
He wrote the satirical couplets sung during the carnival, organized charivaris, and was himself a "little journal" of the gossip of the town.
From Ursula by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
He enjoyed these charivaris, but the dacoits were not so amused.
From Life's Handicap by Rudyard Kipling
At the beginning of the 17th century, wedding charivaris were forbidden by the Council of Tours under pain of excommunication, but the custom still lingers in rural districts.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 8 "Chariot" to "Chatelaine" by Various
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.
