English
festive
Festive comes from Latin festivus ‘pertaining to a feast, gay, lively, joyous’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁stos.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁stosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θēstosreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fēstosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēstus‘of or pertaining to feasts’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīvus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfestivus‘pertaining to a feast, gay, lively, joyous’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfestif
- Englishearliest quotation 1938festive
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dʰeh₁stosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*θēstosreconstructed
- Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*fēstosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfēstus‘of or pertaining to feasts’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEīvus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfestivus‘pertaining to a feast, gay, lively, joyous’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfestif
- Englishearliest quotation 1938festive
Earliest quotation: 1938, Siegfried Sassoon, The Old Century and seven more years: “On festive occasions away from home we softened under…”
Formed from feast + -ive
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- ‘to do’
…
Latin festum ‘holiday, festival, feast’
Late Latin festa ‘party, feast’
Old French feste ‘party’
Middle English feeste
English feast
Linked words
through Latin fēstus ‘of or pertaining to feasts’
through Latin īvus
Today it means
adj Having the atmosphere, decoration, or attitude of a festival, holiday, or celebration.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁stos / festive