kermis
Americannoun
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(in the Low Countries) a local, annual outdoor fair or festival.
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a similar entertainment, usually for charitable purposes.
noun
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(formerly, esp in Holland and Northern Germany) an annual country festival or carnival
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a similar event, esp one held to collect money for charity
Etymology
Origin of kermis
1570–80; < Dutch, earlier ker ( c ) misse ( kerc church + misse Mass ); originally a fair at the dedication of a church
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.
He liked the roaring dynamism of the El, and in Election Night, 1907, he combined it with a flushed, disorderly crowd in a sort of modern kermis.
From Time Magazine Archive
The lad takes his girl about everywhere; they go to the kermis, skate, and amuse themselves, and no one troubles or inquires about them.
From A Wanderer in Holland by Herbert Marshall, R.W.S.
Two years ago, as usual, I had mingled as a pedestrian with the pleasure-seeking visitors of the kermis.
From The German Classics of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Volume 06 Masterpieces of German Literature Translated into English. in Twenty Volumes by Kuno Francke
They see each other at the kermis, or in the street, or fields.
From A Wanderer in Holland by Herbert Marshall, R.W.S.
There had been a kermis at this farm; and kinsfolk had come to eat waffles, ham and custards with their family.
From The Wrack of the Storm by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos
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