celebrate

Etymology

From Middle English celebraten, from Latin celebratus, past participle of celebrō (“frequent, go to in great numbers, celebrate, honor, praise”), from celeber (“frequented, populous”). Displaced native Old English fæġnian.

verb

1. (transitive) To extol or honour in a solemn manner.
   to celebrate the name of the Most High
   Okay, that is simply not true. If that were the case, you wouldn’t need to have an Olympics. The whole reason we do this is to find out who is better than everyone else, so that we can make them stand higher than the other people who are not as good as them, because the point of the games is not to celebrate equality. It is to celebrate individuals’ excellence. So let us all settle in for two incredible weeks of celebrating the fittest, the bravest, the most beautiful and of course, the drunkest of us all. “Did somebody say ‘party’?” Aug 7 2016, “Journalism”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 20, John Oliver (actor), via HBO
2. (transitive) To honour by rites, by ceremonies of joy and respect, or by refraining from ordinary business; to observe duly.
   to celebrate a birthday
   Hester Earle and Violet Wayne were moving about the aisle with bundles of wheat-ears and streamers of ivy, for the harvest thanksgiving was shortly to be celebrated, while the vicar stood waiting for their directions on the chancel steps with a great handful of crimson gladioli. 1907, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict
3. (intransitive) To engage in joyful activity in appreciation of an event.
   I was promoted today at work—let’s celebrate!
   As Di Matteo celebrated and captain John Terry raised the trophy for the fourth time, the Italian increased his claims to become the permanent successor to Andre Villas-Boas by landing a trophy. May 5, 2012, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport
4. (transitive) To perform or participate in, as a sacrament or solemn rite; to perform with appropriate rites.
   to celebrate a marriage