Fete is a word worth celebrating. It's been around since Middle English, when it was used in a manuscript to refer to "fetes, spectacles and other worldly vanytees." Since the 19th century, fete has been doing double duty, also serving as a verb meaning "to honor or commemorate with a fete." You can honor fete by remembering that it entered English from Middle French, and that it derives ultimately from the Old French feste, meaning "festival"—a root that, not surprisingly, also gave English the word feast. Because of its French ties, you will sometimes see fete spelled with a circumflex above the first e (fête), as that's how it appears in that language.
Noun won a prize at the church fete the heiress wanted to do something with her life other than shuttle from fete to feteVerb They feted the winning team with banquets and parades. the returning servicemen and servicewomen were feted with a week's worth of celebrations
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
With summer in full swing, there’s no better time than the present to host an alfresco fete for those both far and near. Eliseé Browchuk, Vogue, 11 July 2022 Lennon was playing at the fete with his band the Quarrymen.Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2022 As many as 10,000 dogs havebeen consumed at a single fete, though numbers are said to be dropping down towards the lower thousands, hopefully due to shrinking popularity. Liza Lentini, SPIN, 16 June 2022 In 1986, for example, Queen Elizabeth celebrated her 60th birthday here at a fete given by her late cousin Lady Elizabeth Anson, a legendary party planner to the royals. Leena Kim, Town & Country, 16 Apr. 2022 At the Costa Brazil pop-up store in SoHo, founder Francisco Costa hosted a fete in celebration of Pride. Ian Malone, Vogue, 27 June 2022 In East Hampton, the cast of the fashionable film—which is set in post-WWII Paris and involves a New Look-era Dior dress that changes one woman’s fate—gathered for a fete.Vogue, 5 July 2022 There's been much talk that the dirty martini is the millennial drink of 2022, but at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which wrapped up last night, the cocktail of every grand fete was the Negroni. Rosa Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 29 May 2022 Another Cannes party high-water mark, according to festival regulars, was the 1998 Velvet Goldmine fete held in a crumbling chateau on the edge of a cliff. Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 May 2022
Verb
To fete Valentino’s 2022 Escape Collection, which celebrates all things summer, exploration, and easy living.Vogue, 24 July 2022 The event was so successful, the Film Society decided to establish a program to fete a prominent film person every year. Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Aug. 2022 Yesterday at noon, a glamorous group of ladies descended on the SoHo restaurant to fete the luxe collection over a French meal. Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 16 June 2022 The Grammys are the first of several awards shows that are expected to fete the composing great in some fashion this year, with the Oscars, Tonys and Emmys likely to follow. Marc Malkin, Variety, 23 Mar. 2022 To fete their 30th wedding anniversary in 2017, Louis-Dreyfus posted a very '80s wedding photo — complete with puffy sleeves! Grace Gavilanes, Peoplemag, 3 Aug. 2022 The center plans to fete Grant in its 45th class of honorees that also includes actor George Clooney, singer Gladys Knight, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Tania León and the rock band U2. Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 28 July 2022 To fete the new Saks pop-up in Aspen, the luxury retailer knew a single event was simply not enough.Vogue, 25 July 2022 After two years of celebrating the Spirited Awards virtually, the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation is finally ready to fete the year’s honorees and winners in New Orleans this July—much to the delight of the industry. Karla Alindahao, Forbes, 21 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English fete, from Middle French, from Old French feste — more at feast