Festivus

Fes·ti·vus
F4E1S1T1I1V4U1S1
/ˈfɛstɪvəs/

proper noun

A nondenominational holiday featured in a Seinfeld episode, now celebrated (seriously or otherwise) on December 23rd.

OriginLatin fēstīvus →
UncommonScrabble 14
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun
  1. A nondenominational holiday featured in a Seinfeld episode, now celebrated (seriously or otherwise) on December 23rd.

    2005, Allen Salkin, Gabi Payn (Illustrator) “Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us”

    1 more example

    "Festivus isn't about any specific religion," Doyle said, stating what seemed both obvious and reassuring. "It's inclusive. And funny."

    2006, Boston Globe Article- “Yes, Virginia, there is a Festivus” http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2006/12/18/yes_virginia_there_is_a_festivus/?p1=MEWell_Pos4

Origin

  1. Latinfēstīvus
  2. EnglishFestivus

Coined by Daniel O'Keefe and popularized on the TV series Seinfeld; either borrowed from Latin fēstīvus or else derived from its English descendants festive and festival by adding the Latin suffix -us.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Festivus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Festivus

MLA

“Festivus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Festivus. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Festivus,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Festivus.

Source: Festivus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.