Feast , v. t. 1. To
entertain with sumptuous provisions; to treat at the
table bountifully; as, he was feasted by the king. Hayward.
2. To delight; to gratify; as, to feast the soul.
Feast your ears with the music a while.
Shak.
Feast , v. i. [imp. & p. p. Feasted;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Feasting.]
[OE. festen, cf. OF. fester to rest from work, F. fêter to
celebrate a holiday. See Feast, n.]
1. To eat
sumptuously; to dine or sup on rich provisions, particularly in large companies, and on public festivals.
And his sons went and feasted in their houses.
Job. i. 4.
2. To be highly gratified or delighted.
With my love's picture then my eye doth
feast.
Shak.
Feast (fēst), n. [OE. feste festival, holiday, feast, OF. feste festival, F. fête, fr. L. festum,
pl. festa, fr. festus joyful, festal; of uncertain origin. Cf. Fair, n., Festal, Fête.]
1. A festival; a holiday; a solemn, or more commonly, a joyous, anniversary.
The seventh day shall be
a feast to the Lord.
Ex. xiii.
6. Now his
parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
feast of the passover.
Luke ii. 41. &fist; Ecclesiastical
feasts are called immovable when they always occur on the
same day of
the year; otherwise they are called movable.
2. A festive or joyous meal; a grand, ceremonious, or sumptuous entertainment, of which many guests partake; a banquet characterized by tempting variety and abundance of food.
Enough is as
good as a
feast.
Old Proverb.
Belshazzar the King made a great feast to a thousand
of his lords.
Dan. v. 1.
3. That which is partaken of, or shared in,
with delight; something highly agreeable; entertainment.
The feast of reason, and the flow
of soul.
Pope. Feast day, a holiday; a day set as a solemn commemorative festival.
Syn. -- Entertainment;
regale; banquet; treat; carousal; festivity; festival. --
Feast, Banquet, Festival, Carousal. A feast sets before us viands superior in quantity, variety, and abundance; a banquet is a luxurious feast; a festival is the joyful celebration by good cheer of
some agreeable event. Carousal is unrestrained indulgence in frolic and
drink.
Hear it pronounced