kirmess

Definitions

noun In Europe, particularly in Belgium and Holland, and outdoor festival and fair; in the United States, generally an indoor entertainment and fair combined.

Dutch kermis; compare German kirmes church mass. See church, and mass a religious service.

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France uses the kirmess oak, which grows in the south of that country and in northern Africa.

Scientific American Supplement, No. 803, May 23, 1891 Various
Heuberger's talent is of the graceful style; he is not very original but his waltzes and "Laendlers" have the true Viennese ring, and the kirmess in the first act is very characteristic; it is melodious and

The Standard Operaglass Detailed Plots of One Hundred and Fifty-one Celebrated Operas Charles Annesley
From saloon to salon, from kitchen to kirmess, from the faro table to the Queen's drawing-room, from the canvas trousers of the miner to Poole's creations, from the calico frock of the housemaid to

The Little Lady of Lagunitas A Franco-Californian Romance Richard Savage 1874
By a devout, consecrating self-denial which manifests itself in eating and drinking, in singing and dancing, at kirmess, charity balls, amateur theatricals, garden parties; where the cost of our XV.

At the Mercy of Tiberius 1872
"Poor fellows!" he thought, "there they go to death as joyously as if it were a kirmess dance.

How Women Love (Soul Analysis) Max Simon Nordau 1886