charivari

Alternative forms

• shivaree (US)

Etymology

From French charivari.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɑːɹɪˈvɑːɹi/, /ʃɪvəˈɹiː/
• Rhymes: -æri, -ɑːri, -iː

Noun

charivari (countable and uncountable, plural charivaris)

1. The noisy banging of pots and pans as a mock serenade to a newly married couple, or similar occasion.
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 94:

     The marriage ceremony was given primordial significance over folkloric pre-marriage engagement rituals and wild charivaris.

2. Any loud, cacophonous noise or hubbub.

Etymology

From Old French chalivali (“noise from pots and pans”), from Late Latin caribaria, from carivaria, from Ancient Greek καρηβάρεια (karēbáreia, “headache”), from καρη (“head”) + βαρύς (barús, “heavy”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃaʁivaʁi/

Noun

charivari m (plural charivaris)

1. charivari, shivaree, mock serenade of discordant noise, notably to heckle a publicly reviled figure
2. a racket, banging in general, rumpus

Further reading

• “charivari” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).