revel
UK[ˈrevl]US[ˈrevl]
v
To take great pleasure or delight in something.
v
To engage in lively and noisy festivities, especially involving drinking and dancing.
n
A lively and noisy celebration, especially involving drinking and dancing.
Etymology
The journey of 'revel' is one of semantic softening and specialization. It originates from the Latin verb 'rebellare', meaning "to wage war again, to rebel," a compound of 're-' ("again") and 'bellare' ("to wage war"). This term passed into Old French with a shifted, broader sense of disorderly conduct and riotous merrymaking. Upon entering Middle English, the martial connotations faded entirely, leaving the core ideas of boisterous celebration and unrestrained enjoyment. Thus, the modern meaning of taking great delight or engaging in festive merrymaking evolved from the notion of rebelling against ordinary restraint and decorum.
Analysis
The word 'revel' is a simplex word borrowed into English as a whole unit. Its core morpheme is 'revel' itself, originating from Old French 'reveler' or 'revel', meaning "to rebel, be disorderly, make merry." The Old French term likely derived from Latin 'rebellare', meaning "to rebel."
Examples
She would revel in the peace and quiet of the early morning.
The sounds of laughter and music suggested they were reveling late into the night.
The festival ended with a three-day revel in the town square.