festive

From French festif, from Latin festivus (“pertaining to a feast, gay, lively, joyous”). Equivalent to feast +‎ -ive.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛstɪv/

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• Hyphenation: fes‧tive
• Rhymes: -ɛstɪv

festive (comparative more festive, superlative most festive)

1. Having the atmosphere, decoration, or attitude of a festival, holiday, or celebration.

   The room was decked out in festive streamers, with flowers everywhere.

   • 1938, Siegfried Sassoon, The Old Century and seven more years, London: Faber, page 35 (1968 edition):

     On festive occasions away from home we softened under the influence of Christmas trees, bran pies, and conjurors.

2. In the mood to celebrate.

   Please put the Christmas decorations away, I'm really not in a festive mood.

• feastful
• feastly

festive

1. feminine singular of festif

festive

1. feminine plural of festivo

From fēstīvus (“joyous, festive; pleasing”), from fēstus (“feast-like; festive”).

fēstīvē (not comparable)

1. agreeably, pleasantly, delightfully
2. humorously, facetiously, wittily

• “festive”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “festive”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• festive in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.