ceremonial

See also: cérémonial, ceremoniál, and ceremoniał

English

Alternative forms

• cæremonial (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English cerymonial, from Latin caerimōniālis. Morphologically ceremony +‎ -al or -ial.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsɛɹɪˈməʊnɪ.əl/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌsɛɹɪˈmoʊniəl/

  • Audio (Southern California):

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• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌseɹɪˈməʉniəl/, /ˌseɹɪˈmɐʉniəl/
• Hyphenation: cer‧e‧mo‧ni‧al
• Rhymes: -əʊniəl

Adjective

ceremonial (comparative more ceremonial, superlative most ceremonial)

1. Of, relating to, consisting of, or used in a ceremony.

   Synonyms: ceremonious, formal, ritual, ritualistic

   • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

     What mockery will it be / To want the bridegroom when the priest attends / To speak the ceremonial rites of marriage!

   • 1751 December 14 (Gregorian calendar), Samuel Johnson, “No. 179. Tuesday, December 3. 1751.”, in The Rambler, volume VII, Edinburgh: […] Sands, Murray, and Cochran; sold by W. Gordon, C. Wright, J. Yair, […], published 1752, →OCLC, page 53:

     His merit introduced him to ſplendid tables and elegant acquaintance, but he did not find himſelf alvvays qualified to join in the converſation. He vvas diſtreſſed by civilities, vvhich he knevv not hovv to repay, and entangled in many ceremonial perplexities, from vvhich his books and diagrams could not extricate him.

   • 1827, Henry Hallam, chapter II, in The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:

     [T]his change in ceremonial observances and outward show was trifling when compared to that in the objects of worship […]

   • 1963, Sylvia Plath, chapter 15, in The Bell Jar, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published 1972, page 151:

     Philomena Guinea's black Cadillac eased through the tight, five o'clock traffic like a ceremonial car.

2. (obsolete) Synonym of ceremonious (“of a person: fond of ceremony or ritual, or of observing strict etiquette or formality; punctilious”)
   • c. 1593–1597, J[ohn] Donne, “Satyre I”, in Poems, […] with Elegies on the Authors Death, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Iohn Marriot, […], published 1633, →OCLC, page 326:

     Oh monstrous, superstitious puritan, / Of refin’d manners, yet ceremoniall man, […]

   • 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Tenth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 193, lines 56-57:

     [W]ith dumb Pride, and a set formal Face, / He moves, in the dull Ceremonial track, […]

Derived terms

• anticeremonial
• ceremonial county
• ceremonial first pitch
• ceremonialise
• ceremonialism
• ceremonialist
• ceremonially
• ceremonialness
• nonceremonial
• preceremonial
• semiceremonial
• unceremonial

Translations

of, relating to, consisting of, or used in a ceremony

• Bulgarian: церемониален (bg) (ceremonialen), обреден (bg) (obreden)
• Catalan: cerimonial
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 禮儀的 / 礼仪的 (lǐyí de), 儀式的 / 仪式的 (yíshì de)

• Czech: obřadný m
• Danish: ceremoniel
• Dutch: ceremonieel (nl)
• Esperanto: ceremonia
• Finnish: seremoniallinen (fi)
• French: cérémonial (fr) m
• Galician: cerimonial m or f
• German: zeremoniell (de)
• Greek: τελετουργικός (el) m (teletourgikós), εθιμοτυπικός (el) m (ethimotypikós)
• Hungarian: szertartásos (hu), ünnepélyes (hu)
• Italian: cerimoniale (it)
• Latin: caerimonialis
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: seremoniell, høytidelig (no)

  Nynorsk: seremoniell

• Portuguese: cerimonial (pt)
• Russian: церемониальный (ru) (ceremonialʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: cȅremonijālan (sh), ȍbrēdnī (sh)
• Spanish: ceremonial
• Swedish: ceremoniell (sv)
• Turkish: törensel (tr)
• Welsh: seremonïol (cy)

Noun

ceremonial (countable and uncountable, plural ceremonials)

1. A ceremony, or series of ceremonies, prescribed by ritual.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 6, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XVII, page 257:

     Curt’sies, and the usual Ceremonials between Women who are Strangers to each other being past, Sophia said, ‘I have not the Pleasure to know you, Madam.’

   • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “chapter 5”, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC:

     Public ceremonies, such as ordinations, the installation of magistrates, and all that could give majesty to the forms in which a new government manifested itself to the people, were, as a matter of policy, marked by a stately and well-conducted ceremonial, and a sombre, but yet a studied magnificence.

   • 1941 November, “Notes and News: G.W.R. Main-Line Centenary”, in Railway Magazine, page 521:

     There was little ceremonial to mark the opening of the completed railway beyond the fact that a decorated train left Paddington at 8 a.m. on the morning of June 30 a hundred years ago and, passing the beflagged ends of Box tunnel, arrived at Bristol at noon.

   • 1972, Robertson Davies, chapter 5, in The Manticore, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, published 2015:

     I have been in favour of ceremonial and patterns all my life, and I have no desire to break the funeral pattern.

Translations

a ceremony, or series of ceremonies

• Bulgarian: обряд m (obrjad)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 禮儀 / 礼仪 (zh) (lǐyí), 儀式 / 仪式 (zh) (yíshì)

• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: muodollisuus (fi)
• French: cérémonial (fr) m
• Galician: cerimonial m
• Greek: τελετή (el) f (teletí)
• Hungarian: szertartásrend (hu)
• Italian: cerimoniale (it) m
• Latin: caerimonia (la) m
• Portuguese: cerimonial (pt) m, ritual (pt) m
• Serbo-Croatian: ceremonìjāl (sh) m

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French cérémonial, from Latin caerimonialis. By surface analysis, ceremonie +‎ -al.

Noun

ceremonial n (plural ceremoniale)

1. ceremonial

Declension

Declension of ceremonial

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	ceremonial	ceremonialul		ceremoniale	ceremonialele
genitive-dative	ceremonial	ceremonialului		ceremoniale	ceremonialelor
vocative	ceremonialule			ceremonialelor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin caerimōniālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /θeɾemoˈnjal/ [θe.ɾe.moˈnjal]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /seɾemoˈnjal/ [se.ɾe.moˈnjal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ce‧re‧mo‧nial

Adjective

ceremonial m or f (masculine and feminine plural ceremoniales)

1. ceremonial

Derived terms

• ceremonialmente

Related terms

• ceremonia

Further reading

• “ceremonial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10