Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Feast"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Feast
as a mark of hospitality (Gen. 19:3; 2 Sam. 3:20; 2 Kings 6:23);
on occasions of domestic joy (Luke 15:23; Gen. 21:8); on
birthdays (Gen. 40:20; Job 1:4; Matt. 14:6); and on the occasion
of a marriage (Judg. 14:10; Gen. 29:22).
Feasting was a part of the observances connected with the
offering up of sacrifices (Deut. 12:6, 7; 1 Sam. 9:19; 16:3, 5),
and with the annual festivals (Deut. 16:11). "It was one of the
designs of the greater solemnities, which required the
attendance of the people at the sacred tent, that the oneness of
the nation might be maintained and cemented together, by
statedly congregating in one place, and with one soul taking
part in the same religious services. But that oneness was
primarily and chiefly a religious and not merely a political
one; the people were not merely to meet as among themselves, but
with Jehovah, and to present themselves before him as one body;
the meeting was in its own nature a binding of themselves in
fellowship with Jehovah; so that it was not politics and
commerce that had here to do, but the soul of the Mosaic
dispensation, the foundation of the religious and political
existence of Israel, the covenant with Jehovah. To keep the
people's consciousness alive to this, to revive, strengthen, and
perpetuate it, nothing could be so well adapated as these annual
feasts." (See {FESTIVALS}.)
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
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.
Note: Ecclesiastical fasts 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 commemo?ative
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 abudance; 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Feast \Feast\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Feasted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Feasting}.] [OE. festen, cf. OF. fester to rest from work,
F. f[^e]ter 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Feast \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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
feast
n 1: a ceremonial dinner party for many people [syn: {banquet}]
2: something experienced with great delight; "a feast for the
eyes"
3: a meal that is well prepared and greatly enjoyed: "a banquet
for the graduating seniors"; "the Thanksgiving feast"
[syn: {banquet}]
4: an elaborate party (often outdoors) [syn: {fete}, {fiesta}]
v 1: partake in a feast or banquet [syn: {banquet}, {junket}]
2: provide a feast or banquet for [syn: {banquet}, {junket}]
3: gratify; "feed one's eye on a gorgeous view" [syn: {feed}]
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