party

Etymology 1

From Middle English party, partye, partie, from Anglo-Norman partie, from Medieval Latin partīta (“a part, party”), from Latin partīta, feminine of partītus, past participle of partior (“to divide”); see part. Doublet of partita. ) for a child.]]

noun

1. (law) A person or group of people constituting a particular side in a contract or legal action.
   The contract requires that the party of the first part pay the fee.
   if the Jury had found that the party slain had been of English race and nation, it had been adjudged felony 1612, Sir John Davies, Discoverie of the True Causes why Ireland was never entirely subdued
2. A person.
   1. (slang, dated) A person; an individual.
      He is a queer party.
   2. With to: an accessory, someone who takes part.
      I can't possibly be a party to that kind of reckless behaviour.
3. (now rare in general sense) A group of people forming one side in a given dispute, contest etc.
   1. (roleplaying games, online gaming) Active player characters organized into a single group.
   2. (video games) A group of characters controlled by the player.
4. (politics) Political party; political group considered as a formal whole, united under one specific political platform of issues and campaigning to take part in government.
   The green party took 12% of the vote.
   The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command. 1949, George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four, page 103
   In the freer political atmosphere before the 1989 repression, peasant protests against the Party in Henan were sometimes openly discussed. A transcript of a meeting between peasants and cadres in Jili district near Luoyang published in the Peasants’ Daily recorded some vivid complaints. 1996, John Gittings, “Peasants in Revolt”, in Real China: From Cannibalism to Karaoke, Pocket Books, published 1997, →OCLC, page 46
5. (military) A discrete detachment of troops, especially for a particular purpose.
   The settlers were attacked early next morning by a scouting party.
6. A group of persons collected or gathered together for some particular purpose.
   1. A gathering of usually invited guests for entertainment, fun and socializing.
      I'm throwing a huge party for my 21st birthday.
      So-So, tonight, tonight, let’s look at where that time actually goes, and let’s begin with the most obvious form of fundraising: fundraisers. These are usually shitty parties in D.C. bars, restaurants, or townhouses, and there are a lot of them! The Sunlight Foundation estimates that, in the last election cycle, members of Congress held over 28 hundred fundraisers! Washington is like Rod Stewart’s haircut: party in the front, party in the back, frankly too much party and no business anywhere to be found! Apr 3 2016, “Congressional Fundraising”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 7, John Oliver (actor), via HBO
      You know I’d leave any party for you / 'Cause no party’s so sweet as a party of two 2017, “Any Party”, in Pleasure, performed by Feist
   2. A group of people traveling or attending an event together, or participating in the same activity.
      We're expecting a large party from the London office.
      Do you have a table available for a party of four?
   3. A gathering of acquaintances so that one of them may offer items for sale to the rest of them.
      Tupperware party
      lingerie party
7. A small group of birds or mammals.
   A party of mynas, consisting of several males and females, once selected the top of a low terraced roof, just below my verandah, as a site for courting and quarrelling. 1903, D.D. Cunningham, Some Indian Friends and Acquaintances, London: John Murray, page 28
   Small parties and flocks close to breeding sites commonly give shrill, high-pitched, trilling screams. 2009, Mark Brazil, The Birds of East Asia, London: Christopher Helm, page 272
8. (obsolete) A part or division.

verb

1. (intransitive) To celebrate at a party, to have fun, to enjoy oneself.
   We partied until the early hours.
2. (intransitive, slang, euphemistic) To take recreational drugs.
   “Miss, do you party?” the boy asked. “What?” Jennifer asked back. “Do you smoke? I'll get you some cheap. One American dollar equals forty Jamaican dollars. I'll get you as much of the stuff as you need.” 2004, Daniel Nicholas Shields, Firewoman
3. (intransitive) To engage in flings, to have one-night stands, to sow one's wild oats.
4. (online gaming, intransitive) To form a party (with).
   If you want to beat that monster, you should party with a healer.

Etymology 2

From Middle English party, from Old French parti (“parted”), from Latin partītus (“parted”), past participle of partiri (“to divide”). More at part.

adj

1. Of a fence or wall: shared by two properties and serving to divide them.
2. (obsolete, except in compounds) Divided; in part.
3. (heraldry) Parted or divided, as in the direction or form of one of the ordinaries.
   an escutcheon party per pale