noun, plural cer·e·mo·nies.
- the formal activities conducted on some solemn or important public or state occasion: the coronation ceremony.
- a formal religious or sacred observance; a solemn rite: a marriage ceremony.
- formal observances or gestures collectively; ceremonial observances: The breathless messenger had no time for ceremony.
- any formal act or observance, especially a meaningless one: His low bow was mere ceremony.
- a gesture or act of politeness or civility: the ceremony of a handshake.
- strict adherence to conventional forms; formality: to leave a room without ceremony.
- stand on ceremony, to behave in a formal or ceremonious manner.
noun plural -nies
- a formal act or ritual, often set by custom or tradition, performed in observation of an event or anniversarya ceremony commemorating Shakespeare’s birth
- a religious rite or series of rites
- a courteous gesture or actthe ceremony of toasting the Queen
- ceremonial observances or gestures collectivelythe ceremony of a monarchy
- stand on ceremony to insist on or act with excessive formality
- without ceremony in a casual or informal manner
late 14c., cerymonye, from Old French ceremonie and directly from Medieval Latin ceremonia, from Latin caerimonia “holiness, sacredness; awe; reverent rite, sacred ceremony,” an obscure word, possibly of Etruscan origin, or a reference to the ancient rites performed by the Etruscan pontiffs at Caere, near Rome. Introduced in English by Wyclif.
see stand on (ceremony).