charivari

[ shiv-uh-ree, shiv-uh-ree, shuh-riv-uh-reeor, especially British, shahr-uh-vahr-ee ]

noun

plural: charivarischarivaried charivariing

1. a variant of shivaree.

charivari

/ ˌʃɑːrɪˈvɑːrɪ /

noun

1. a discordant mock serenade to newlyweds, made with pans, kettles, etc
2. a confused noise; din

Word History and Origins

Origin of charivari¹

< French, Middle French, of obscure origin; said to be < Late Latin carībaria headache < Greek karēbaría, equivalent to karē-, combining form of kárā, kárē head + -baria ( bar ( ys ) heavy + -ia -ia ), on the hypothesis that such a noisy procession would cause a headache

Word History and Origins

Origin of charivari¹

C17: from French, from Late Latin caribaria headache, from Greek karēbaria, from karē head + barus heavy

Example Sentences

Young people also expressed their opinion of the moral conduct of elders, in traditions known as charivari or "rough music".

From BBC

It is what the  charivari of outraged Usenet  denizens  did  to  Portal and Internet Direct as vengeance, swamping the servers with furious mail and big, capacity-consuming image files.

From Scientific American

The next night about sixty of the white neighbors gave us a charivari and my wife was much pleased to know there was no color prejudice among them.

From Project Gutenberg

At times, this produced a din of voices by no means pleasant to the ear; indeed, it was not unworthy of the name of charivari.

From Project Gutenberg

On one of those occasions it was rumored in the village, that a "shiveree"—Hoosier for charivari—was to mark the event.

From Project Gutenberg