feria
1 Americannoun
plural
feriae, feriasnoun
plural
feriasnoun
Usage
What does feria mean? Feria is a word used in the Roman Catholic Church to refer to a weekday on which no feast is celebrated. In this context, a feria is any weekday (Monday through Friday) that doesn’t celebrate a holy mystery, event, or person (such as a saint). Days that celebrate one of these are called feast days. The plural of feria is feriae or ferias. The adjective form of this meaning of feria is ferial, as in Monday is a ferial day. The religious sense of feria is not commonly used today, even among most Catholics. You’re much more likely to hear the word feria in Spanish, in which it refers to a local fair or festival, especially one to celebrate a local saint. Example: Friday was a feria because there was no religious feast celebrated.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of feria
First recorded 1760–65; from Late Latin: “day of the week” (e.g. secunda fēria “second day, Monday”); in Latin only plural fēriae “holidays”; see fair 2
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.
Durante una feria un niño huérfano salva de un tramposo a un jugador y éste lo adopta y lo cría junto con su hija.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2019
En la feria de San Marcos es dónde dos charros demuestran su interés por complacer a las mujeres que tanto quieren.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 19, 2019
Swinging into the spirit of the feria, Jackie donned the traditional comb and mantilla to accompany Garrigues to her second bullfight.
From Time Magazine Archive
Secundum primam regulam fratres feria quarta et sexta et per licentiam beati Francisci feria secunda et sabbato jejunabant.
From Life of St. Francis of Assisi by Houghton, Louise Seymour
The diversions of the feria struck me as innocent, perhaps childish; but there was none of the coarseness and the squalor of a fair in England.
From The Story of Seville by Hartley, C. Gasquoine (Catherine Gasquoine)
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.
