ceremony

English

Alternative forms

• cæremony, cærimony (both archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English cerymonye, from Latin caerimonia or caeremonia, later often cerimonia (“sacredness, reverence, a sacred rite”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɹ.ɪ.mə.ni/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɛɹ.əˌmoʊ.ni/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Philippines, nonstandard) IPA^(key): /sɛɹˈɛ.mə.ni/
• Hyphenation: cer‧e‧mo‧ny

Noun

ceremony (countable and uncountable, plural ceremonies)

1. A ritual, with religious or cultural significance.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, pages 463-464:

     To whom the Priest with naked armes full net
     Approching nigh, and murdrous knife well whet,
     Gan mutter close a certaine secret charme,
     With other diuelish ceremonies met:

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Numbers 9:3:

     In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep [the passover] in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it.

   • 1881, Henry James, Jr., chapter 1, in The Portrait of a Lady, New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC, page 1:

     Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.

2. An official gathering to celebrate, commemorate, or otherwise mark some event.

   a graduation ceremony, an opening ceremony

3. (uncountable) A formal socially established behaviour, often in relation to people of different ranks; formality.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:

     […] to feed were best at home;
     From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony;
     Meeting were bare without it.

   • 1928, W. Somerset Maugham, “Miss King”, in Ashenden‎^[1], New York: Avon, published 1943, page 37:

     Monsieur Bridet, notwithstanding his costume and his evident harrassment [sic], found in himself the presence of mind to remain the attentive manager, and with ceremony effected the proper introduction.

   • 1959, C. S. Forester, Hunting the Bismarck‎^[2], London: Michael Joseph:

     They went into the bars and interrupted the drinking, hustling the men out without ceremony.

4. (uncountable) Show of magnificence, display, ostentation.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book I”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 752-756:

     Meanwhile the winged Heralds, by command
     Of sovereign power, with awful ceremony
     And trumpet’s sound, throughout the host proclaim
     A solemn council forthwith to be held
     At Pandemonium […]

   • 1829, Washington Irving, chapter 46, in A Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada‎^[3], volume II, Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Carey, page 254:

     Immediately after her arrival, the queen rode forth to survey the camp and its environs: wherever she went, she was attended by a splendid retinue; and all the commanders vied with each other, in the pomp and ceremony with which they received her.

5. (obsolete) An accessory or object associated with a ritual.
   • 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     […] his ceremonies laid by, in his nakedness he appears but a man […]

   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     […] Well, believe this,
     No ceremony that to great ones ’longs,
     Not the king’s crown, nor the deputed sword,
     The marshal’s truncheon, nor the judge’s robe,
     Become them with one half so good a grace
     As mercy does.

6. (obsolete) An omen or portent.
   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     For he is superstitious grown of late,
     Quite from the main opinion he held once
     Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies.

   • 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies,
     Yet now they fright me.

Derived terms

• award ceremony, awards ceremony
• ceremonial
• ceremonialism
• ceremonially
• ceremonialness
• ceremoniless
• ceremonious
• ceremoniously
• ceremoniousness
• closing ceremony
• initiation ceremony
• master of ceremonies
• mistress of ceremonies
• New Fire ceremony
• opening ceremony
• preceremony
• ramp ceremony
• smoking ceremony
• stand on ceremony
• tea ceremony

 

Translations

ritual with religious significance

• Albanian: ceremoni (sq) f
• Arabic: مَرَاسِم m pl (marāsim), طُقُوس m pl (ṭuqūs), طَقْس مُقَدِّس m (ṭaqs muqaddis), اِحْتِفَال m (iḥtifāl)
• Armenian: ծես (hy) (ces)
• Asturian: ceremonia f
• Azerbaijani: mərasim, ayin (az)
• Bashkir: йола (yola)
• Basque: zeremonia
• Belarusian: цырымо́нія f (cyrymónija), абра́д m (abrád)
• Bengali: অনুষ্ঠান (bn) (onuśṭhan)
• Bulgarian: обре́д (bg) m (obréd), церемо́ния (bg) f (ceremónija)
• Burmese: အခမ်းအနား (my) (a.hkam:a.na:)
• Catalan: cerimònia (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 儀式ぎしき／仪式 (zh) (yíshì), 祭まつり (zh) (jì)

• Czech: obřad (cs) m
• Danish: ceremoni (da) c
• Dutch: ceremonie (nl) f, plechtigheid (nl) f
• Egyptian: (jrw)
• Esperanto: ceremonio
• Estonian: tseremoonia (et)
• Finnish: seremonia (fi)
• French: cérémonie (fr) f
• Galician: cerimonia (gl) f
• Georgian: ცერემონია (ceremonia), წესჩვეულება (c̣esčveuleba)
• German: Zeremonie (de) f, feierliche Handlung f, Ritual (de) n
• Greek: τελετή (el) f (teletí)

  Ancient: τελετή f (teletḗ)

• Hebrew: טֶקֶס (he) m (tekes)
• Hindi: समारोह (hi) m (samāroh), अनुष्ठान (hi) m (anuṣṭhān), विधि (hi) f (vidhi)
• Hungarian: szertartás (hu)
• Icelandic: athöfn (is) f
• Indonesian: upacara (id), seremoni (id)
• Italian: cerimonia (it) f
• Japanese: 儀式ぎしき (ja) (ぎしき, gishiki), 式典しきてん (ja) (しきてん, shikiten)
• Kazakh: рәсім (kk) (räsım)
• Khmer: ពិធី (km) (pithii)
• Kimaragang: pongadatan
• Korean: 예식(禮式れいしき) (ko) (yesik), 의식(儀式ぎしき) (ko) (uisik), 식전(式典しきてん) (ko) (sikjeon)
• Kyrgyz: азем (ky) (azem)
• Lao: ພິທີ (phi thī)
• Latin: caerimōnia (la) f
• Latvian: ceremonija f
• Lithuanian: ceremonija f
• Macedonian: церемонија f (ceremonija)
• Malay: upacara (ms)
• Malayalam: ചടങ്ങ് (ml) (caṭaṅṅŭ), ആചാരം (ml) (ācāraṁ)
• Maori: ritenga, kawanga
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: ёслол (mn) (joslol)

• Navajo: hatáál
• Norman: cérémonie f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: seremoni (no) m

• Occitan: ceremònia f
• Persian: مراسم (fa) (marâsem)
• Plautdietsch: Zerremonie f
• Polish: ceremonia (pl) f, obrzęd (pl) m
• Portuguese: cerimónia (pt) f (Portugal), cerimônia (pt) f (Brazil)
• Romanian: ceremonie (ro) f
• Russian: церемо́ния (ru) f (ceremónija), обря́д (ru) m (obrjád), ритуа́л (ru) m (rituál)
• Sanskrit: विधि (sa) m (vidhi), अनुष्ठान (sa) n (anuṣṭhāna)
• Scottish Gaelic: deas-ghnàth m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: церемо̀нија f, свѐчано̄ст f, о̀бред m

  Roman: ceremònija (sh) f, svèčanōst (sh) f, òbred (sh) m

• Slovak: obrad m
• Slovene: obred (sl) m, slovesnost f
• Spanish: ceremonia (es) f
• Swedish: ceremoni (sv) c
• Tagalog: (literally) seremonya, galian
• Tajik: маросим (marosim)
• Tatar: мөрәсим (möräsim)
• Telugu: ఉత్సవం (te) (utsavaṁ)
• Thai: พิธี (th) (pí-tii), พิธีกรรม (th) (pí-tii-gam)
• Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: seremoni (tr), ayin (tr), tören (tr), merasim (tr)
• Ukrainian: церемо́нія (uk) f (ceremónija), обря́д m (obrjád)
• Urdu: تَقْرِیب (taqrīb)
• Uyghur: مۇراسىم (murasim)
• Uzbek: marosim (uz)
• Vietnamese: nghi thức (vi), nghi lễ (vi)
• Welsh: seremoni (cy) f
• Yiddish: צערעמאָניע f (tseremonye)

official gathering to celebrate

• Arabic: رَسْمِيَّات f pl (rasmiyyāt), مَرَاسِم m pl (marāsim), حَفْل m (ḥafl)
• Armenian: արարողություն (araroġutʻyun)
• Belarusian: цырымо́нія f (cyrymónija)
• Bulgarian: церемо́ния (bg) f (ceremónija)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 典禮てんれい／典礼てんれい (zh) (diǎnlǐ), (suffix) -式しき (zh) (-shì)

• Czech: ceremonie f, obřad (cs) m
• Danish: ceremoni (da) c
• Dutch: ceremonie (nl) f, plechtigheid (nl) f
• Estonian: tseremoonia (et)
• Finnish: seremonia (fi), juhla (fi), juhlallisuudet pl
• French: cérémonie (fr) f
• Galician: cerimonia (gl) f
• Georgian: ცერემონია (ceremonia)
• German: Feier (de) f, Zeremonie (de) f
• Greek: τελετή (el) f (teletí)
• Hebrew: טֶקֶס (he) m (tekes)
• Icelandic: athöfn (is) f
• Italian: cerimonia (it) f
• Japanese: 典礼てんれい (ja) (てんれい, tenrei), (suffix) -式しき (ja) (-しき, shiki), セレモニー (ja) (seremonī)
• Korean: 전례(典禮てんれい) (ko) (jeollye)
• Macedonian: церемонија f (ceremonija)
• Malayalam: ചടങ്ങ് (ml) (caṭaṅṅŭ)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: ёслол (mn) (joslol)

• Norman: cérémonie f
• Polish: ceremonia (pl) f
• Portuguese: cerimónia (pt) f (Portugal), cerimônia (pt) f (Brazil)
• Romanian: ceremonie (ro) f
• Russian: церемо́ния (ru) f (ceremónija)
• Scottish Gaelic: deas-ghnàth m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: церемо̀нија f, свѐчано̄ст f

  Roman: ceremònija (sh) f, svèčanōst (sh) f

• Slovak: ceremónia f, obrad m
• Spanish: ceremonia (es) f
• Swedish: högtidlighet (sv) c, ceremoni (sv) c
• Telugu: వేడుక (te) (vēḍuka)
• Turkish: tören (tr), merasim (tr), kutlama (tr)
• Ukrainian: церемо́нія (uk) f (ceremónija)
• Welsh: seremoni (cy) f

formal socially-established behaviour

• Arabic: حَفْل رَسْمِيّ m (ḥafl rasmiyy)
• Bulgarian: етикет (bg) m (etiket)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 禮節れいせつ／礼れい节 (zh) (lǐjié), 儀禮ぎれい／仪礼 (zh) (yílǐ)

• Finnish: muodollinen käytös, muodollisuus (fi); kursailu (fi)
• Galician: cerimonia (gl) f
• Greek: τελετουργικό (el) n (teletourgikó)
• Japanese: 儀礼ぎれい (ja) (ぎれい, girei)
• Polish: ceremonia (pl) f
• Portuguese: cerimónia (pt) f (Portugal), cerimônia (pt) f (Brazil)
• Romanian: ceremonie (ro) f
• Russian: этике́т (ru) m (etikét)
• Scottish Gaelic: deas-ghnàth m
• Spanish: ceremonia (es) f
• Thai: พิธีการ (pí-tii-gaan)
• Turkish: tören (tr)

Further reading

• “ceremony”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “ceremony”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ceremony”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “ceremony”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Middle English

Noun

ceremony

1. Alternative form of cerymonye