Where does “festival” come from?
festival (Old French) comes from Latin fēstīvālis, from Latin fēstīvus, from Latin -īvus, from Proto-Indo-European -iHwós, from Proto-Indo-European -wós — Creates adjectives from verb stems.
Ancestry of “festival”, step by step
festival traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin fēstīvālis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | fēstīvālis | Of or pertaining to a festival |
| 2 | Latin | fēstīvus | lively, festive, joyous, gay, merry |
| 3 | Latin | -īvus | Adjective suffix |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHwós | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -wós | Creates adjectives from verb stems |
via Late Latin festivalis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | festivalis | Of or pertaining to a festival; Of or pertaining... |