bacchanalian
pronunciation
How to pronounce bacchanalian in British English:
UK [ˌbækəˈneɪliən]
How to pronounce bacchanalian in American English:
US [ˌbækəˈneljən]
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- Adjective:
- used of riotously drunken merrymaking
Word Origin
- bacchanalian
- bacchanalian: [16] Bákkhos was the Greek god of wine. Son of Zeus and Semele, he was also known as Diónūsos. The Romans adopted him, amending his name to Bacchus, and his worshippers went in for a brand of licentious revelry, in his honour, known as Bacchanalia. Hence the metaphorical application of the English adjective to anything drunkenly orgiastic.
- bacchanalian (adj.)
- 1560s; see bacchanalia + -an. As a noun from 1610s.
Example
- 1. Emperor nero attended the bacchanalian orgy .
- 2. College-admissions deans and potential employers browse bacchanalian footage .
- 3. A night of bacchanalian revelry ; carousing bands of drunken soldiers ; orgiastic festivity .
- 4. The bacchanalian partying on graduation night resulted in three wrecked cars , two lawsuits by unamused parents , and more new experiences than most of the participants could remember the next day .