banquet

/ˈbæŋkwɪt/

/ˈbæŋkwɪt/

Other forms: banquets; banqueting; banqueted

It’s customary to celebrate Thanksgiving with a banquet, or elaborate feast — along with the requisite bickering between family members.

If you sat down to a banquet in the earliest sense of this word, you’d surely be disappointed. Banquet comes from a French word meaning "bench," and originally a banquet was a small snack — something you could eat while sitting on a bench. If a particular family member isn’t cooperating at your next holiday meal, consider having him dine in this traditional fashion, on a bench somewhere far from the dining room table.

Definitions of banquet

1. noun

   a ceremonial dinner party for many people
   synonyms: feast

   types:

   gaudy

   (Britain) a celebratory reunion feast or entertainment held a college

   type of:

   dinner, dinner party

   a party of people assembled to have dinner together
2. noun

   a meal that is well prepared and greatly enjoyed
   “a banquet for the graduating seniors”

   synonyms: feast, spread

   type of:

   meal, repast

   the food served and eaten at one time
3. verb

   provide a feast or banquet for
   synonyms: feast, junket

   feast, junket

   partake in a feast or banquet

   type of:

   host

   be the host of or for
4. verb

   partake in a feast or banquet
   synonyms: feast, junket

   feast, junket

   provide a feast or banquet for

   types:

   wine and dine

   eat sumptuously

   type of:

   eat

   eat a meal; take a meal