jubilee

Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Origin: F. jubilé, L. jubilaeus, Gr. …, fr. Heb. yōbel the blast of a trumpet, also the grand sabbatical year, which was announced by sound of trumpet.

1. Jewish Hist. Every fiftieth year, being the year following the completion of each seventh sabbath of years, at which time all the slaves of Hebrew blood were liberated, and all lands which had been alienated during the whole period reverted to their former owners. [In this sense spelled also, in some English Bibles, jubile.] Lev. xxv. 8-17.

2. The joyful commemoration held on the fiftieth anniversary of any event; as, the jubilee of Queen Victoria's reign; the jubilee of the American Board of Missions.

3. Roman Catholic Church A church solemnity or ceremony celebrated at Rome, at stated intervals, originally of one hundred years, but latterly of twenty-five; a plenary and extraordinary indulgence granted by the sovereign pontiff to the universal church. One invariable condition of granting this indulgence is the confession of sins and receiving of the eucharist.

4. A season of general joy.

The town was all a jubilee of feasts.— John Dryden

5. A state of joy or exultation. rare “In the jubilee of his spirits.” Sir Walter Scott

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54