Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A festive occasion, especially a lavish social event or entertainment.
- n. Chiefly British An athletic competition, especially a swimming contest.
- adj. Marked by lavish or festive celebration: a gala ball after the inaugural ceremony.
- adj. Characterized by sumptuous social pleasure: the gala life of the very rich.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Festivity; festive show.
- n. A textile fabric made in Scotland.
- n. Festal attire; one's best clothes: as, to be in gala.
Wiktionary
- adj. Celebratory; festive.
- n. uncountable Pomp, show, or festivity.
- n. countable A showy and festive party.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Pomp, show, or festivity.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a gay festivity
Etymologies
- Italian and French, both ultimately from Old French gale, rejoicing, from galer, to make merry; see gallant. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Fey, who has won several Emmys for her writing and acting, has given the Twain gala's producers and writers plenty of skits and one-liners to work with.”
The Washington Post: Stars set to honor Tina Fey in Mark Twain Prize ceremony at Kennedy Center
“In addition to honoring student work, the College Television Awards gala is an opportunity for this talented group of students, and soon-to-be industry professionals, to meet and network with high-level Hollywood decision-makers.”
Twilight Lexicon » Peter Facinelli To Be a Presenter at Awards
“Its next U.S. gala is scheduled for June on the Mall.”
“Another fundraising gala is scheduled for September.”
“Sen. Frist's promise of not accepting money from lobbyists attending the World of Hope gala is virtually useless, as representatives from corporations do not have to be official lobbyists to be able to donate to a nonprofit such as Frist's.”
“In the midst of the enemy's camp-ground, underneath a temporary dance-house, are men and women in gala-day dress.”
“Just to remind: Three months away from its grand "gala" - on September 11th!!”
“The theme for the gala was the Ice Hotel, said Ms. Zuckerman Jacobson.”
The Wall Street Journal: In Aspen, Bringing Winter Into Summer
“And by the way, I recently discussed this long-ago debacle with Donya Hubby, who at the time of the gala was the Joffrey's publicity director; she has lately served as the U.S. company manager for the Royal Danish Ballet.”
“But, naturally, the gala, which is honoring Fran ois-Henry Bennahmias, the President and CEO of Audemars Piguet North America, which has a long standing relationship with the charity and the Terminator himself, was also an important event.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘gala’.
-
AFET - diplomacy
broker a peace ac..., client state, deadlocked peace ..., embassy, freeze, goodwill ambassador, hinterland, interfere in dome..., intervene personally, maintain technica..., mediation, no business as usual and 670 more...
-
Of Arabic Origin
Arabic loanwords in English are words acquired directly from Arabic or else indirectly by passing from Arabic into other languages and then into English. Most entered one or more of the Romance lan...
admiral, adobe, albatross, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, alembic, alfalfa, algebra, algorism, algorithm, alidade and 181 more...
-
old timey talk
Words or Sayings from the 1920's or whatever that no one really uses anymore (at least in that context).
scram, bearcat, heavens to betsy, dick, double-cross, ducky, gams, goofy, hooch, jalopy, john, joe and 174 more...
-
food collection
bread, peel, pot, chorizo, Filet, olive, fill, Phyllo, dough, bake, mat, pinot and 988 more...
-
Flutter
tuberose, golden apple, apple cider, unicorn, extraordinary, Pleiades, Merope, speckle, glitter, rose, pitter-pat, whale and 314 more...
-
Appellations
States of ment.
off kilter, fervent, nonchalant, exuberant, turbid, verbose, eloquent, vicarious, gallivant, orotund, amalgamate, accentuate and 285 more...
-
ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
-
My Treasures
Well everyone's lists are favourites or pets or useful terms, no? These are mine.
mephitic, cagastric, wulm, scaevity, seplasiary, sevidical, sevous, soleated, soloecal, sputcheon, stagma, temerate and 173 more...
-
Words Covered in Faery Dust (G)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
gable, gaia, gala, galaxy, gallows, gambol, garden, garland, garnet, gauntlet, gazebo, gazelle and 105 more...
-
Mimi
sober, rhetoric, oratory, ergo, venom, diaphragm, Medieval, piety, incognito, ruse, calamity, evidence and 251 more...
-
iRosaceae
An ode to apples. I am much indebted to 'Wild Apples' which, though probably not likely to change your life and improve your productivity at the sausage factory, will enthrall you with half an hou...
rosaceae, apple, maelon, crab, jonathon, eden, temptation, clan lamont, eye, sward, pomona, granny smith and 135 more...
-
Words suggested in response to Funk's...
In response to Wilfred J. Funk's "ten most beautiful words in the English language" list of 1932.
beer, rum, rye, sauterne, sherry, brandy, bourbon, Scotch, champagne, cocktail, lyric, serenity and 137 more...
-
maryoehler's favorites
Favorite words for various reasons. Maybe I just like the way it sounds. Perhaps it's an especially perfect onomatopoeia. Or it could just be that it has a wonderful meaning.
lugubrious, chortle, picnic, hilarious, amenable, juxtaposition, eponymous, etiolate, gala, incongruous, plethora, pulchritude and 5 more...
-
Shindigs
hoo-ha, shindig, soiree, convention, congress, confabulation, rap session, bash, blowout, fete, gala, festival and 36 more...
-
keywords
tendril, tremble, vanity, cutlery, archipelago, game-changer, saliva, fame whore, bottom-feeder, run with the hare, blood from a turnip, patina and 8 more...
-
shindig
shivarees, fiestas, and other celebrations
shivaree, shindig, hoedown, fiesta, celebration, party, partay, revel, gala, ball, masquerade, bash and 43 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for gala.
johnmperry Hardly a sacrifice not to eat meat for 40 days, particularly for those who couldn't afford it anyway! But this was more of a saying goodbye to the good times. After Lent, when the hens started laying again, was the time of Easter Eggs, well before Easter was hijacked by the Church. Jun 17, 2008
Prolagus :-) Jun 17, 2008
bard Well simply that "meat" or "flesh" is not usually associated with merry-go-rounds and ferris wheels... Giving up meat for Lent is a fairly traditional "sacrifice," but again, celebrating one's sacrifices seems a bit incongruous and dark for a child's entertainment. Of course back in the day, kiddies weren't protected from reality, so it was no big thing, just like gallows events. Disney has done horrible things to our children in shielding them from truth.
Then again, chili con carne is just not chili worth bothering with. *wink* Jun 17, 2008
Prolagus An alternative etymology is carnem levare, which basically means the same. Jun 17, 2008
johnmperry Where's the gruesomeness in carnival? That is from "carne vale" - goodbye to meat, at the start of Lent. Jun 17, 2008
bard Back in the good old days when public executions were common occurrences and even celebrations... this was originally a "gallows" event, which was shortened and eroded down to "gala" over time. A rather gruesome origin for such a cheerful term, rather like "carnival." Jun 17, 2008
frindley See galah for further pronunciation notes. Apr 9, 2008
reesetee Yes, it was a big secret until WeirdNet had to go and blab. ;-) Dec 17, 2007
uselessness I always thought this word should be pronounced "GAA luh" or maybe "GAH luh," but "GAY luh" sounded wrong to me. Then, WordNET cleared it up, and all is well again. Dec 16, 2007