fete

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The Word of the Day for July 8 is:

fete   \FAYT\   noun
      1 : festival
      2 a : a lavish often outdoor entertainment  *b : a large elaborate party

Example sentence:
      Nigel's 50th birthday was celebrated with an impressive fete, featuring 
an abundance of delicious food, an open bar, and endless music and dancing.

Did you know?
     "Fete" is a word worth celebrating. It's been around since Middle English, 
when it was used in a manuscript to refer to "fetes, spectacles and other 
worldly vanytees." Since the 19th century, it has been doing double duty, 
serving both as a noun (as we've used it here) and as a verb meaning "to honor 
or commemorate with a fete." You can honor "fete" by remembering that it 
entered English from Middle French, and that it derives ultimately from the Old 
French "feste," meaning "festival" -- a root that, not surprisingly, also gave 
English the word "feast." (Because of its French ties, you will sometimes see 
"fete" spelled with a circumflex above the first "e," as that's how it appears 
in that language.)

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.