festoon

1 of 2

noun

fes·​toon fe-ˈstün 

1

: a decorative chain or strip hanging between two points

walls decorated with festoons of flowers

2

: a carved, molded, or painted ornament representing a decorative chain

Around the mirror were carved festoons of grapevines.

festoon

2 of 2

verb

festooned; festooning; festoons

transitive verb

1

: to hang or form festoons on

2

: to shape into festoons

3

: decorate, adorn

also : cover sense 4b

Did you know?

The noun festoon first appeared in the 1600s when it was used, as it still is today, to refer to decorative chains or strips hung between two points. (It can also refer to a carved, molded, or painted ornament representing such a chain.) After a century’s worth of festoon-adorning, the verb festoon made an entrance, and people began to festoon with their festoons—that is, they draped and adorned with them. The verb has since then acquired additional, more general senses related not only to decorating, but to something appearing on the surface of something, as in “a sweater festooned with purple unicorns.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, this celebratory-sounding and party-associated word traces back (by way of French and Italian) to Latin festa, the plural of festum, meaning “festival.”

Synonyms

Verb

• adorn
• array
• beautify
• bedeck
• bedizen
• blazon
• caparison
• deck
• decorate
• do
• do up
• doll up
• drape
• dress
• embellish
• emblaze
• emboss
• enrich
• fancify
• fancy up
• garnish
• glitz (up)
• grace
• gussy up
• ornament
• pretty (up)
• trim

Examples of festoon in a Sentence

Verb

We festooned the halls with leaves and white lights.

The balcony is festooned in ivy.

His office is festooned with newspaper clippings.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Enlarge / Aurora's sensors festoon this Volvo VNL class 8 truck. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 21 May 2024

Bougainvillea festoons pathways in a riot of color, from coral and yellow to magenta, Jaipur pink, and mauve. —Vasudha Rai, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Jan. 2023

Verb

It's festooned with details like doric columns and decorative stonework — there's even an old funerary chamber. —Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 21 Dec. 2024

There were photorealistic renderings of male and female heads and bodies festooned with strange confetti-like colored goo. —John Werner, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

French feston, from Italian festone, from festa festival, from Latin — more at feast

First Known Use

Noun

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1765, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

festoon

1 of 2 noun

fes·​toon fes-ˈtün 

: a decorative chain or strip hanging between two points

festoon

2 of 2 verb

: to hang or form festoons on