Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To treat to a charivari.
  • noun [capitalized] The name of a satirical journal founded in Paris in 1832.
  • noun A mock serenade, with kettles, horns, etc., intended as an annoyance or insult.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A mock serenade of discordant noises, made with kettles, tin horns, etc., designed to annoy and insult; -- called also shivaree.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The noisy banging of pots and pans as a mock serenade to a newly married couple, or similar occasion.
  • noun Any loud, cacophonous noise or hubbub.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a noisy mock serenade (made by banging pans and kettles) to a newly married couple

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French, perhaps from Late Latin carībaria, headache, from Greek karēbariā : karē, head; see ker- in Indo-European roots + barus, heavy; see gwerə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French charivari.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word charivari.

Examples

  • Regional Note: Shivaree is the most common American regional form of charivari, a French word meaning "a noisy mock serenade for newlyweds" and probably deriving in turn from a Late Latin word meaning "headache."

    The WELL: Sugaree Robert Hunter 2008

  • The charivari is a custom that the Canadians got from the

    Roughing It in the Bush 1852

  • But I can tell you that a charivari is not always a joke.

    Roughing It in the Bush 1852

  • The popping of revolvers, the clanging of cow bells, the clash of tin boilers -- all that medley of discord which lends volume to the horror known as a charivari -- tore to shreds the harmony of the night.

    A Man Four-Square William MacLeod Raine 1912

  • The charivari is a custom that the Canadians got from the French, in the

    Roughing It in the Bush Susanna Moodie 1844

  • In the universities of Southern France, the marriage of resident doctors and students was also contemplated, and the statutes of the University of Aix contain a table of charges payable as "charivari" by a rector,

    Life in the Medieval University Robert S. Rait

  • On her first evening in Gopher Prairie Cy had appeared at the head of a "charivari," banging immensely upon a discarded automobile fender.

    Main Street 1920

  • On her first evening in Gopher Prairie Cy had appeared at the head of a "charivari," banging immensely upon a discarded automobile fender.

    Main Street Sinclair Lewis 1918

  • Dan was full of a wild idea that we should all meet them at the gate, armed with cowbells and tin-pans, and "charivari" them up the lane.

    The Golden Road 1908

  • It is related to other means of social control that arise in communities, such as charivari, riding the rail, and tarring and feathering.

    AlterNet.org Main RSS Feed 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.