bacchanal

See also: Bacchanal

English

WOTD – 21 January 2012

Alternative forms

• Bacchanal

Etymology

From Latin Bacchānālis (“of or pertaining to Bacchus”). See Bacchanalia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbækənəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

bacchanal (comparative more bacchanal, superlative most bacchanal)

1. Relating to Bacchus or his festival.
   • 1819 July 15, [Lord Byron], Don Juan, London: […] Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, canto I, (please specify the stanza number):

     Sweet is the vintage, when the showering grapes / In Bacchanal profusion reel to earth, / Purple and gushing […]

2. Engaged in drunken revels; drunken and riotous or noisy.

Translations

relating to Bacchus or his festival

• Catalan: bacanal (ca)
• Portuguese: bacanal (pt)
• Russian: вакхи́ческий (ru) (vakxíčeskij)
• Spanish: bacanal (es)

engaged in drunken revels; drunken and riotous or noisy

• Catalan: bacanal (ca)
• Portuguese: bacanal (pt)
• Russian: разгу́льный (ru) (razgúlʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: баханалије pl
• Spanish: bacanal (es)
• Swedish: backanalisk (sv)

Noun

bacchanal (plural bacchanals)

1. A devotee of Bacchus.
2. Someone who indulges in drunken partying; someone noisy and riotous when intoxicated.
   • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     The riot of the tipsie Bachanals

3. (in the plural) The festival of Bacchus; the bacchanalia.
4. Drunken revelry; an orgy.
5. A song or a dance in honor of Bacchus.
6. (Trinidad and Tobago, informal) drama, ruckus, fiasco

Translations

devotee of Bacchus

• Bulgarian: вакханка (bg) f (vakhanka)
• Finnish: juoppo (fi)
• Romanian: bahic (ro) m, dionisiac (ro) m, de bacanală
• Russian: гуля́ка (ru) m or f (guljáka), кути́ла (ru) m or f (kutíla)

festival of Bacchus

• Bulgarian: вакханалия (bg) f (vakhanalija)
• Dutch: zwelgpartij (nl) f
• Finnish: bakkanaali (fi)

drunken revelry; an orgy

• Bulgarian: оргия (bg) f (orgija), вакханалия (bg) f (vakhanalija)
• Catalan: bacanal (ca) f
• Finnish: juomingit (fi); bakkanaali (fi), orgia (fi)
• Portuguese: bacanal (pt) m
• Russian: вакхана́лия (ru) f (vakxanálija), (пья́ный) разгу́л (ru) m (razgúl)
• Spanish: bacanal (es) f
• Swedish: backanal (sv) c

song or dance in honor of Bacchus

• Finnish: bakkanaali (fi)

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

bacchanal m (plural bacchanals)

1. a loud, annoying noise
2. a revolt amongst the peasantry

Further reading

• “bacchanal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.