Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
An informal social gathering, especially one where traditional Irish or Scottish folk music is played, with dancing and storytelling.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland, Scotland, also, attributive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Ellipsis of ceilidh dance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland, Scotland, abbreviation, also, alt-of, attributive, ellipsis
Topics: dance, dancing, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To attend a ceilidh (noun sense 1).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland, Scotland, also, attributive, intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
To dance a ceilidh dance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Ireland, Scotland, also, attributive, intransitive
Topics: dance, dancing, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
an informal social gathering at which there is Scottish or Irish folk music and singing and folk dancing and story telling
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: party
History
The noun is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cèilidh (“a pilgrimage; a social call, visit; a sojourn; a social gathering with dancing, etc., ceilidh”) and Irish célidhe (archaic), céilí (“a social call, visit; a social gathering with dancing, etc., ceilidh”), both from Old Irish célide (“social call, visit”), from céile (“companion, fellow; neighbour”) (ultimately from Proto-Celtic *kēiliyos (“companion; servant”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to settle”)) + -ide. The plural form ceilidhean is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cèilidhean. The verb is derived from the noun.
Across languages
15 source translations are retained for this English entry.
