feast

[feest]

noun

1. any rich or abundant meal.

   The steak dinner was a feast.

2. a sumptuous entertainment or meal for many guests.

   a wedding feast.

3. something highly agreeable.

   The Rembrandt exhibition was a feast for the eyes.

4. a periodical celebration or time of celebration, usually of a religious nature, commemorating an event, person, etc..

   Every year, in September, the townspeople have a feast in honor of their patron saint.

verb (used without object)

1. to have or partake of a feast; eat sumptuously.

2. to dwell with gratification or delight, as on a picture or view.

verb (used with object)

1. to provide or entertain with a feast.

feast

/ fiːst /

noun

1. a large and sumptuous meal, usually given as an entertainment for several people

2. a periodic religious celebration

3. something extremely pleasing or sumptuous

   a feast for the eyes

4. a festival or other event of variable date

verb

1. (intr)

   1. to eat a feast

   2. (usually foll by on) to enjoy the eating (of), as if feasting

      to feast on cakes

2. (tr) to give a feast to

3. to take great delight (in)

   to feast on beautiful paintings

4. (tr) to regale or delight

   to feast one's mind or one's eyes

Other Word Forms

• feaster noun
• feastless adjective
• outfeast verb (used with object)
• overfeast verb
• prefeast noun
• unfeasted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of feast¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English feste, from Old French, from Latin fēsta, neuter plural (reinterpteted as feminine singular noun in Vulgar Latin ) of fēstus “festal, festive,” equivalent to fēs- (akin to fair ² ) + -tus adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of feast¹

C13: from Old French feste , from Latin festa , neuter plural (later assumed to be feminine singular) of festus joyful; related to Latin fānum temple, fēriae festivals

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. feast one's eyes, to gaze with great joy, admiration, or relish.

   to feast one's eyes on the Grand Canyon.

Synonym Study

Feast, banquet imply large social events, with an abundance of food. A feast is a meal with a plenteous supply of food and drink for a large company: to provide a feast for all company employees. A banquet is an elaborate feast for a formal and ceremonious occasion: the main speaker at a banquet.

Example Sentences

Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving for more than 400 years, beginning in 1621 when the Pilgrims and Wampanoag came together for their famous feast.

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It’s winter in Dublin, 1904, and two elderly sisters are hosting a feast for the Epiphany.

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Within minutes, the table is filled with a feast’s worth of food; there are plates of rice, pots of soup, piles of potatoes, and many servings of meat.

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Eventually, though, she secures her newborn in the den and heads back to the bamboo thicket to feast—crucial for her own survival as well as her cub’s.

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When the Prodigal Son’s older brother is bothered about the feast, his father tells him to rejoice in his brother’s return.

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Related Words

• barbecue 
• dinner 
• festival 
• festivity 
• fiesta 
• gala 
• picnic 
• repast