section_path: Etymology
section_name: Etymology
paragraph_text: Etymology
  
  The word "festival" was originally used as an adjective from the late fourteenth century, deriving from Latin via Old French. In Middle English, a "festival dai" was a religious holiday.
  
  The first recorded used of the word "festival" as a noun was in 1589 (as "Festifall"). Feast first came into usage as a noun c. 1200, and its first recorded use as a verb was circa 1300.
  
  The word gala comes from Arabic word khil'a, meaning robe of honor. The word gala was initially used to describe "festive dress", but came to be a synonym of "festival" starting in the 18th century.