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jamboree

[jam-buh-ree]
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noun
  1. a carousal; any noisy merrymaking.
  2. a large gathering, as of a political party or the teams of a sporting league, often including a program of speeches and entertainment.
  3. a large gathering of members of the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, usually nationwide or international in scope (distinguished from camporee).
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Origin of jamboree

1860–65, Americanism; apparently blend of jabber and shivaree, with m from jam1 crowd
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for jamboree

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Some of 186 them said they would rather not attend the jamboree at all!

  • I can make allowance once in a while for the boys gettin' on a jamboree, but by Christmas!

    The Trail of '98

    Robert W. Service

  • I'll go somewhere an' finish my jamboree an' then I'll hit fer some fresh range.

    Prairie Flowers

    James B. Hendryx

  • I reckon there ain't been such a jamboree in town for years.

    The Crossing

    Winston Churchill

  • "Having a jamboree," said the hunter, drawing rein at the blazing doorway.

British Dictionary definitions for jamboree

jamboree

noun
  1. a large and often international gathering of Scouts
  2. a party or spree
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Word Origin

C19: of uncertain origin
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 jamboree

n.

1866, represented as typical of American English, perhaps from jam (n.) on pattern of shivaree [Barnhart]. For the second element, Weekley suggests French bourree, a kind of rustic dance. Klein thinks the whole thing is of Hindu origin (but he credits its introduction to English, mistakenly, to Kipling). Boy Scouts use is from 1920. Noted earlier as a term in cribbage:

Jamboree signifies the combination of the five highest cards, as, for example, the two Bowers [jacks], Ace, King, and Queen of trumps in one hand, which entitles the holder to count sixteen points. The holder of such a hand, simply announces the fact, as no play is necessary; but should he play the hand as a Jambone, he can count only eight points, whereas he could count sixteen if he played it, or announced it as a Jamboree. ["The American Hoyle," New York, 1864]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper