Where does “festive” come from?

Festive comes from French festif, derived from Latin festivus meaning "of a festival or feast," formed with the Latin suffix -ivus from the Proto-Indo-European root dʰeh₁- meaning "to place or put."

festive (English): Having the atmosphere, decoration, or attitude of...

Definitions

  1. Having the atmosphere, decoration, or attitude of...

Ancestry of “festive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchfestiffestive
2Latinfēstīvuslively, festive, joyous, gay, merry
3Latin-īvusAdjective suffix
4Proto-Indo-European-iHwós—
5Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “festive”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →Every word from Latin -īvus →Every word from Latin fēstīvus →