gala
[gey-luh, gal-uh; especially British gah-luh]
- festive; festal; showy: Her birthday parties were always gala occasions.
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- a festive occasion; celebration; special entertainment: a gala featuring opera stars in their most famous scenes.
- festal pomp or dress.
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Origin of gala
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
joyful, festive, festivity, function, pageant, jamboree, dance, fiesta, shindig, prom, bash, celebration, gay, affair, to-do, ball, roast, carnival, blowout, doExamples from the Web for gala
Contemporary Examples
And with the variety we have at the gala — Thom Browne, Sarah Burton, Carolina Herrera — those are three very different worlds.
The only YouTube videos of her are paparazzi-style entrances and exits at gala events and business meetings.
Wylie and I speak at the Figure Skating in Harlem gala on April 7, an annual event that raises money for the nonprofit.
Figure Skater Michelle Kwan Chases Gold in Rhode Island’s Gubernatorial RaceNicholas McCarvel
April 17, 2014
Some of the biggest names in corporate America were celebrated at the gala event, including AT&T, Viacom, Nike, and Boeing.
Dinner at the American Jewish Congress gala at Cipriani in midtown Manhattan was a thick slice of brisket covered in gravy.
Historical Examples
In 1856 the gala days of this half-caste people were quite over.
Dr. SevierGeorge W. Cable
Some gent comes trackin' up intent on drinks, an' feelin' gala.
Faro Nell and Her FriendsAlfred Henry Lewis
It was a gala night and the theatre was hung with flags and brilliantly illuminated.
Olive in ItalyMoray Dalton
We knowe that a man is not iustified 70 by the dedes of the lawe / Gala.
It was the last time in many a day when Manila would be in gala.
Myths & Legends of our New Possessions & ProtectorateCharles M. Skinner
gala
- a celebration; festive occasion
- (as modifier)a gala occasion
- mainly British a sporting occasion involving competitions in several eventsa swimming gala
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Word Origin
C17: from French or Italian, from Old French gale pleasure, from Old French galer to make merry, probably of Germanic origin; compare gallant
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for gala
n.
1620s, "festive dress or attire," from French en gala, perhaps from Old French gale "merriment," from galer "rejoice, make merry" (see gallant). Klein suggests the French word is from Italian gala (as in phrase vestito di gala "robe of state"), perhaps from Arabic khil'a "fine garment given as a presentation." Sense of "festive occasion" (characterized by display of finery) first recorded 1777.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper