mela

[ mey-lah ]

/ ˈmeɪ lɑ /

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noun (in India)

a religious fair, especially one held in connection with a festival.

a throng of people.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

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Origin of mela

1790–1800; <Hindi <Sanskrit melā assembly, company

Words nearby mela

Mekka, Meknès, Mekong, Mekong Delta, mel, mela, melaena, Melaka, melaleuca, melamed, melamine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mela in a sentence

They held mass rallies ahead of elections and promoted the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage that drew millions of worshippers to a single town—an event Jha predicts will end up “one of the biggest superspreader events in the history of humanity.”
India's COVID-19 Crisis Is Spiraling Out of Control. It Didn't Have to Be This Way|Naina Bajekal|April 29, 2021|Time
Unlike a free-for-all mela or fair, the Maha Kumbh this year would need specific passes, Covid-19-negative tests, and constant masking.
Even a once-in-a-century pandemic can’t stop the world’s largest Hindu gathering|Manavi Kapur|March 5, 2021|Quartz
The mela or festival, over, without mishap or outbreak of special sickness, our return march took place.
Recollections of Thirty-nine Years in the Army|Charles Alexander Gordon
Our conversation soon turned to the Hardwar Mela, which our unexpectedly-recovered friend had left exactly five days ago.
From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan|Helena Pretrovna Blavatsky

Unfortunately the mela is languishing for want of sufficient public support.
The Hindoos as they Are|Shib Chunder Bose
Mela also refers to a people quibus capita et vultus in pectore sunt.
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1|The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.
And they said that the word went out at certain times and the people flocked to this Mela.
John Wesley, Jr.|Dan B. Brummitt

British Dictionary definitions for mela

mela

/ (ˈmiːlə, ˈmɛlə) /

noun

an Asian cultural or religious fair or festival

Word Origin for mela

C19: Hindi, from Sanskrit mēlā an assembly, from mil to meet

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