1.
[syn: movable feast, moveable feast]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Movable \Mov"a*ble\, a. [Cf. OF. movable. See Move.]
1. Capable of being moved, lifted, carried, drawn, turned, or
conveyed, or in any way made to change place or posture;
susceptible of motion; not fixed or stationary; as, a
movable steam engine. [Also spelled moveable.]
Syn: transferable, transferrable, transportable.
[1913 Webster]
2. Changing from one time to another; as, movable feasts, i.
e., church festivals, the date of which varies from year
to year.
[1913 Webster]
Movable letter (Heb. Gram.), a letter that is pronounced,
as opposed to one that is quiescent.
Movable feast (Ecclesiastical), a holy day that changes
date, depending on the lunar cycle. An example of such a
day is Easter.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Feast \Feast\ (f[=e]st), n. [OE. feste festival, holiday, feast,
OF. feste festival, F. f[^e]te, fr. L. festum, pl. festa, fr.
festus joyful, festal; of uncertain origin. Cf. Fair, n.,
Festal, F[^e]te.]
1. A festival; a holiday; a solemn, or more commonly, a
joyous, anniversary.
[1913 Webster]
The seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. --Ex.
xiii. 6.
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Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the
feast of the passover. --Luke ii. 41.
[1913 Webster]
Note: An Ecclesiastical feast is called a immovable feast
when it always occurs on the same day of the year;
otherwise it is called a movable feast. Easter is a
notable movable feast.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
Enough is as good as a feast. --Old Proverb.
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Belshazzar the King made a great feast to a thousand
of his lords. --Dan. v. 1.
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3. That which is partaken of, or shared in, with delight;
something highly agreeable; entertainment.
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The feast of reason, and the flow of soul. --Pope.
[1913 Webster]
Feast day, a holiday; a day set as a solemn commemorative
festival.
Syn: Entertainment; regale; banquet; treat; carousal;
festivity; festival.
Usage: 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.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
movable feast
n 1: a religious holiday that falls on different dates in
different years [syn: movable feast, moveable feast]