mardi gras

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mardi gras^¹

proper noun

Alternative letter-case form of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras^²

/ˈmɑːdi ɡɹɑː/ UK
/ˈmɑɹdi ɡɹɑ/ US
/ˈmɑɹdi ɡɹɔ/ US, obsolete

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French mardi gras (literally “fat Tuesday”).

proper noun mardi gras

The day when traditionally all fat and meat in the house were finished up, before Christians were banned from eating them during Lent, which commenced the following day on Ash Wednesday. Mardi-gras was ushered in with various ceremonies, offering a strange mixture of devotion and profaneness.
Similar: Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day, Pancake Tuesday
The last day of a carnival, traditionally the celebration immediately before the start of Lent when joy would be out of place for Christians. 1823, Thomas Tryatall, The Parisian Carnival, read in The New Monthly Magazine, and Literary Journal, Oliver Everett, p. 90, "Masks!" exclaimed I; "why, it isn't carnival time, is it?" "To be sure 'tis," replied he, "dis is Mardi gras, de gayest of de gay days. Noting but pleasure, and fun, and hosh
A carnival. Mardi Gras has been in operation here for the past two weeks, and on Monday last the Trudor sports should have commenced.

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MLA

"mardi gras." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mardi%20gras. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mardi gras. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mardi%20gras

Chicago

"mardi gras." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mardi%20gras.

BibTeX

@misc{mardi_gras_2026,
  title = {mardi gras},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mardi%20gras},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}