Meaning
An informal social gathering, especially one where traditional Irish or Scottish folk music is played, with dancing and storytelling.
Etymology
Origin: Celtic languages
The noun is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cèilidh (“a pilgrimage; a social call, visit; a sojourn; a social gathering with dancing, etc., ceilidh”) and Irish célidhe (archaic), céilí (“a social call, visit; a social gathering with dancing, etc., ceilidh”), both from Old Irish célide (“social call, visit”), from céile (“companion, fellow; neighbour”) (ultimately from Proto-Celtic *kēiliyos (“companion; servant”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to settle”)) + -ide. The plural form ceilidhean is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cèilidhean. The verb is derived from the noun.
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2021, 2023, 2026.