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convivial

[kuhn-viv-ee-uhl]
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adjective
  1. friendly; agreeable: a convivial atmosphere.
  2. fond of feasting, drinking, and merry company; jovial.
  3. of or befitting a feast; festive.
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Origin of convivial

1660–70; < Late Latin convīviālis festal, equivalent to Latin convīvi(um) feast (convīv(ere) to live together, dine together (con- con- + vīvere to live) + -ium -ium) + -ālis -al1
Related formscon·viv·i·al·ist, nouncon·viv·i·al·i·ty, nouncon·viv·i·al·ly, adverbnon·con·viv·i·al, adjectivenon·con·viv·i·al·ly, adverbnon·con·viv·i·al·i·ty, noun

Synonyms

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1. sociable, companionable, genial.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

pleasantgenialheartyfestivejollycheerfuljoviallivelysociableclubbycompanionableentertainingfriendlygayhappyhilariousholidayjocundmerrymirthful

Examples from the Web for convivial

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Be friendly, genial, convivial—what you will—but preserve the tone and bearing of a gentleman.

  • Bozzy was a convivial knight-errant in what was called 'Saving the ladies.'

    James Boswell

    William Keith Leask

  • Can I even trust him in hours of convivial abandonment and debauch?

    Roland Cashel

    Charles James Lever

  • Nothing is too strange, nothing too ridiculous, nothing too convivial, nothing too daring for Paddy.

    Jack Hinton

    Charles James Lever

  • Touch-the-button-Nell was singing a comic ditty of a convivial order.

    The Trail of '98

    Robert W. Service

British Dictionary definitions for convivial

convivial

adjective
  1. sociable; jovial or festivea convivial atmosphere
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Derived Formsconvivialist, nounconviviality, nounconvivially, adverb

Word Origin

C17: from Late Latin convīviālis pertaining to a feast, from Latin convīvium, a living together, banquet, from vīvere to live
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for convivial

adj.

1660s, "pertaining to a feast," from Late Latin convivialis, from Latin convivium "a feast," from convivere "to carouse together," from com- "together" (see com-) + vivere "to live" (see vital). Meaning "sociable" is from 18c. Related: Conviviality.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper