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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

pleasant, genial, hearty, festive, jolly, cheerful, jovial, lively, sociable, clubby, companionable, entertaining, friendly, gay, happy, hilarious, holiday, jocund, merry, mirthful

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