Banquet: A Feast With Speeches Attached
A banquet is a large formal meal held to mark an occasion. What separates it from a dinner is ceremony: a top table, an order of proceedings, and usually somebody speaking.
A banquet is a formal meal for many guests, given in honour of a person or an event. Size alone does not make one. A banquet needs an occasion, a seating plan, and the expectation that at some point everybody must stop eating and listen.
- A large ceremonial meal. *A state banquet at the palace.*
- A rich spread of food. *The table was a banquet of local dishes.*
- To feast (verb, literary). *They banqueted until midnight.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | banquet | A wedding banquet. |
| Verb | banquet | The guests banqueted late. |
| Compound | banqueting hall | The banqueting hall was full. |
| Adjective | banqueting | Banqueting facilities. |
| Near synonym | feast | A harvest feast. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The award was presented at the annual banquet.At the banquet — the event as a setting.
- A state banquet was held for the visiting delegation.State banquet is the fixed diplomatic term.
- After a week of ration packs, the meal felt like a banquet.Figurative, describing abundance.
Banquet, feast, dinner and reception
- Banquet — formal, seated, with a programme
- Feast — abundant, often traditional or religious, less formal
- Dinner — the ordinary evening meal, or a modest formal one
- Reception — drinks and standing, food secondary
From French *banquet*, a diminutive of *banc*, a bench — literally a little bench. The word first meant a light snack taken on a bench after the real meal, then grew, over a few centuries, into the grandest meal of all.
Is banquet used as a verb today?
Rarely, and it sounds archaic or playful. *They banqueted* belongs to historical writing more than to modern speech.
What is a banqueting hall?
A room built or hired for large formal meals. Many historic houses have one, and hotels advertise banqueting facilities.