reveler
reveler
Old French (from Latin rebellare)
“Revelry comes from the same Latin root as rebellion — to revel and to rebel were once the same act, and the party was always a protest.”
Revel comes from Old French reveler, meaning to make noise, to be disorderly, to rebel. The Old French verb derives from Latin rebellare (to make war again, to revolt), from re- (again) + bellare (to wage war). The path from rebellion to celebration is short: both involve noise, crowds, the breaking of rules, and the suspension of normal order. The medieval revel was not a polite gathering. It was a disturbance with music.
By the fourteenth century, English had separated 'revel' from 'rebel' in spelling and usage, but the meanings still overlapped. The medieval revel was a loud, disorderly feast — the word carried a note of excess that 'feast' and 'celebration' did not. Shakespeare used 'revels' for the plays and entertainment at court: 'Our revels now are ended' (The Tempest, IV.i). The Master of the Revels was a real court office, responsible for overseeing theatrical entertainment.
Revelry — the noun for the state of reveling — entered English by the fifteenth century. It implies sustained, communal, somewhat excessive celebration. 'Revelry' has a louder register than 'merrymaking' or 'festivity.' A night of revelry suggests noise, drinking, dancing, and the possibility that things went too far. The word retains its Old French rowdiness.
The Master of the Revels held real power: between 1574 and 1642, every play performed in England required his approval. Shakespeare's plays were licensed by the Master of the Revels. The word that meant rebellion had been domesticated into a government office, and the government office controlled the theater. The revel had become entertainment. The entertainment required a permit.
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Today
Revelry is a newspaper word — it appears in reports of holiday celebrations, festival crowds, and New Year's Eve. 'Drunken revelry' is almost a fixed phrase. The word has settled into a register that implies both celebration and excess, always with a slight note of disapproval from the person writing the report.
The Latin word for making war again became the English word for making too much noise at a party. The rebellion was domesticated, but not entirely. Every revel still breaks something — a rule, a curfew, a neighbor's patience. The war is over. The noise continues.
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