Let's start with a Greek word for "headache," karebaria, which literally means "heavy head." This karebaria traveled through Latin and French to English, arriving as "charivari," and later corrupting into "shivaree."

Today, in its most narrow sense, a charivari, or a shivaree, is a bunch of loud, rough, ugly music that people make with pots and pans to celebrate a newly married couple. Or, if they disapprove of the couple, it's the ugly "music" they make to mock them and embarrass them.

More generally, a charivari or a shivaree is any noisy fuss, party, or celebration that reminds you of people banging on pots and pans and singing in a rough, boisterous celebration of newlyweds.

Part of speech:

Noun: "Outside, the cicadas are giving us a shivaree."

Other forms: 

The alternate form is "charivari," but if you're in the US, I'd recommend sticking with the American "shivaree."

"Shivaree" can also be a verb, the transitive kind: "Let's go shivaree the happy couple." The other forms are "shivareed" and "shivareeing."

how to use it:

Pick the weird, rare, folksy Americanism "shivaree" when you want to describe a loud, wild, hot mess of a party or celebration. It's a more exciting, more emphatic word than "bash," "party," or "shindig."

You might talk about people starting, joining, or going to a shivaree. Or talk about people giving other people a shivaree. Or you might label some noise or other fuss "a shivaree of something," like "a shivaree of enthusiastic fourth-grade drummers" or "a shivaree of tweets and retweets."

examples:

"In the end she led him to the altar. We started in to give them a lovely shivaree after the wedding, beginning with a sort of yell which had been invented by the only fellow in town who had been to college."
   — George Horace Lorimer, Old Gorgon Graham, 1903

"So I don’t want any man to ride in [to battle] with me thinking he’s going to a wedding. He isn’t. He may or may not be going to a funeral, but he’s not going to a shivaree."
   — Frank H. Spearman, Nan of Music Mountain, 1916

has this page helped you understand "shivaree"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "shivaree" without saying "ruckus" or "revelry."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "A shivaree of (loud sounds) came (from somewhere)."

Example 1: "From the cafeteria came a shivaree of shouts, laughter, slurping, singsongy chanting, and the clinking of silverware."

Example 2: "So it went: the succession of film fragments on the tube... the boozing, the tireless shivaree of voices and guitars from out by the pool." 
   — Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49, 1965

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Market That Makeup!"

Check out the names given to the shades in a palette, and decide what to call the shade with the missing name. You might channel the vibe established by the other shade names, or just pick the weirdest or most grandiloquent name you can think of. To see the shade's real name—the one that the marketing team picked—scroll all the way down. 

Try this one today:

Makeup Revolution's "Forever Flawless Digi Butterfly" includes shades like "dynamic," "daze," "vibe," "wings," and "illusion."

Invent a name for the shade on the top row, second from the left:

(Source)

review this word:

1. The near opposite of a SHIVAREE is

A. a HUG.
B. a VIGIL.
C. a TOAST.

2. As the Associated Press reported, an environmental preservation group called Sturgeon for Tomorrow _____ a shivaree, where the mood was _____.

A. resorted to .. urgent
B. threw .. exhilarating
C. held .. tense and focused

Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B Answer to the game question: Any name you chose is great! The company chose "euphoric." (Source)

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.