eisteddfod

American  

[ahy-steth-vod, ey-steth-] / aɪˈstɛð vɒd, eɪˈstɛð- /

noun

plural

eisteddfods, eisteddfodau

1. (in Wales) an annual festival, with competitions among poets and musicians.

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eisteddfod British  

/ aɪˈstɛðvɔd, aɪˈstɛdfəd /

noun

1. any of a number of annual festivals in Wales, esp the Royal National Eisteddfod, in which competitions are held in music, poetry, drama, and the fine arts

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Other Word Forms

• eisteddfodic adjective

Etymology

Origin of eisteddfod

1815–25; < Welsh: literally, session, equivalent to eistedd sitting + fod, variant (by lenition) of bod being

Example Sentences

"I remember the Aberporth eisteddfodau. If the eisteddfod didn't finish until 2am, it wasn't a worthwhile eisteddfod," she recalled.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2021

The musical reply came from the mighty Treorchy Male Choir, the winners of that year’s eisteddfod, and a group that traces its history back to 1883.

From The Guardian • Jul. 2, 2017

He has spoken in the past – surly/amused – of an "eisteddfod of hostility", as if his detractors were the excitable participants in a provincial arts festival.

From The Guardian • Aug. 15, 2014

Radio presenter Roy Noble, chair of the Welsh government's task force which looked at future funding for the eisteddfod, said he hoped the council grant would at least be maintained post reorganisation.

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2014

Shortly after his accession to the throne of Gwynedd, of which he was the rightful heir, he proclaimed an eisteddfod, or poetical sessions. 

From The Welsh and Their Literature from The London Quarterly Review, January 1861, American Edition by Borrow, George Henry