# party

Pronunciation: US say "PAR-tee" /ˈpɑɹ.ti/; UK say "PAH-tee" /ˈpɑː.ti/

## Noun

1. A social gathering of invited guests, usually with food, drink, and entertainment, often held to celebrate an occasion or sometimes so a host can sell goods to guests.
   - Simple: An event where invited people meet to eat, drink, and have fun, often to celebrate something.
   - _They hosted a dinner party to celebrate their anniversary._
   - _After the wedding, the reception turned into a lively party that lasted past midnight._
2. An organized political group that contests elections and aims to form or take part in government; 'the Party' often means the ruling Communist Party of a one-party state.
   - Simple: An organized group of people with shared political ideas who try to win elections and run the government.
   - _The party nominated its candidate at the national convention._
   - _Smaller parties often struggle to win seats in a winner-take-all system._
3. A person or group constituting one side in a legal proceeding or contract.
   - Simple: A person or group on one side of a legal case or contract.
   - _The injured party filed a claim for damages._
   - _Both parties to the dispute were ordered to attend mediation._
5. Someone who takes part in an action or affair, or acts as an accessory to it, used with to.
   - Simple: A person who takes part in something or helps it happen, used with 'to'.
   - _The lawyer warned that anyone who hid the money would become a party to the fraud._
   - _I will not be a party to deceiving them, whatever the reward._
6. A group of people brought together for a shared purpose or task, such as travel, a search, or a military operation, often only for a limited time.
   - Simple: A group of people who go somewhere or do a job together, such as a rescue party or raiding party.
   - _A rescue party set out at dawn to reach the stranded climbers._
   - _The restaurant can seat a party of twelve in the back room._
7. A body of people forming one side in a dispute or contest, or united in support of a cause or opinion against others; a faction.
   - Simple: A group of people who take one side in an argument or who join together to support a cause.
   - _The peace party in the council argued against the war, but the hawks prevailed._
   - _He emerged as the leader of the reforming party in the assembly._
8. A set of active player characters organized together as a single adventuring group.
   - Simple: A team of player characters who travel and fight together in a game.
   - _Before the boss fight, she healed everyone in her party and saved the game._
   - _A balanced party usually includes a healer, a tank, and damage dealers._
14. A small group of birds or mammals, considered as a single unit.
   - Simple: A small group of birds or animals moving together.
   - _A party of jays moved noisily through the oak canopy._
   - _The naturalist spotted a party of otters fishing in the shallows._

## Verb

4. To celebrate at a party, having fun and enjoying oneself.
   - Simple: To celebrate and have fun with other people.
   - _Friends gather every Friday to party and unwind._
   - _The students partied until dawn after their final exams._
9. To form a group with other players in a game.
   - Simple: To join with other players to form a group in a game.
   - _Players often party up to tackle high-level dungeons together._
   - _She partied with her guildmates before the boss encounter._
11. To take recreational drugs, typically for enjoyment. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To take drugs to have fun, often at social events.
   - _Their crowd would party hard, chasing every new high they could find._
   - _She quit partying after a close friend overdosed._
12. To engage in casual sexual relationships or flings; to sow one's wild oats.
   - Simple: To have casual romantic flings rather than settle down.

## Adjective

13. Favoring one political party over others; partisan in outlook.
   - Simple: Strongly supporting one political group instead of others.
   - _The newspaper was accused of party bias in its election coverage._
   - _He dismissed the criticism as mere party spirit._
20. Shared by two adjoining properties and serving to divide them, as a wall or fence held in common.
   - Simple: Shared between two properties and used to divide them, as in a wall between two houses.
   - _Disputes over the party wall were settled under a special statute._
   - _Each neighbor paid half the cost of repairing the party structure._

## Noun

10. A person or individual, especially referred to in a playful, joking, or slightly disrespectful way. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A person: a playful or somewhat rude way of talking about someone.
   - _A rather odd party had been asking after you at the tavern._
   - _She married some wealthy party from the city, or so the gossip went._
15. A feeling of solidarity with and loyalty to one's own political party; partisanship, especially in political affairs. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A strong sense of loyalty to one's own political group, even above other concerns.
16. A part, share, or portion of a larger whole. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A part or piece of something larger.
17. A person considered as a possible spouse, or a proposal to marry. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A possible husband or wife, or an offer of marriage.
18. A decision, resolution, or agreement reached between people. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A decision, agreement, or final choice made between people.

## Adverb

19. Partly; in part; to some extent. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To some degree, but not fully.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Of a shield or its field, split into sections of contrasting tinctures, usually equal in size, typically along the line an ordinary would follow.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–12, 14–19** — It comes from Middle English "party," borrowed via Anglo-Norman from Old French "partie" ("side, part, share, division"), literally "that which is divided," the noun use of the past participle of "partir" ("to divide, separate"). This goes back to Latin "partire" ("to share, divide") and "pars" ("a part, piece"), first attested around 1300.
**Meanings 13, 20** — Latin partītus ("parted"), the past participle of partiō ("to divide"), gave Old French parti ("parted"), which became Middle English party.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/party (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).