Saturnalia Hear it!

Saturnalia definition

Sat·ur·na·lia (sat′ər nā′lē ə, -nāl′yə)

noun pl. Saturnalias -·lias or Saturnalia -·lia

  1. the ancient Roman festival of Saturn, held about Dec. 17, with general feasting and revelry in celebration of the winter solstice
  2. any period or occasion of unrestrained, often orgiastic, revelry

Etymology: L, neut. pl. of Saturnalis, of Saturn

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.