Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “celebrate” come from?

Celebrate comes from Middle English celebraten, from Latin celebratus, the past participle of celebro, derived from the adjective celeber meaning frequented or populous.

celebrate (English): To extol or honour in a solemn manner; To honour...

Definitions

  1. To extol or honour in a solemn manner; To honour...

Ancestry of “celebrate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcelebraten—
2Latincelebratusthronged; frequented; employed; repeated;...
3Latincelebrō—
4Latin-ō—
5Proto-Indo-European-ōDerives nouns from roots

Words derived from “celebrate”

  • celebratory
  • celebrator
  • concelebrate
  • noncelebratory
  • celebratorily
  • recelebrate
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ō →