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The noun festoon first appeared in the 1600s when it was used, as it still is today, to refer to decorative chains or strips hung between two points. (It can also refer to a carved, molded, or painted ornament representing such a chain.) After a century's worth of festoon-adorning, the verb festoon made an entrance, and people began to festoon with their festoons—that is, they draped and adorned with them. The verb form of festoon has since acquired additional, more general senses related not only to decorating, but to appearing on the surface of something, as in "a sweater festooned with unicorns." Perhaps unsurprisingly, this celebratory-sounding and party-associated word traces back (by way of French and Italian) to Latin festa, the plural of festum, meaning "festival."
Examples of festoon in a Sentence
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
28 Apr. 2026
And corporations—apparently—need festivals to festoon boardroom presentations and humanize their brands.
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Joe Sills,
Forbes.com,
23 Feb. 2026
Brooke Barbier,
PEOPLE,
3 July 2026
On the other hand, Dunaway and her tart-talking sidekick, Brenda Vaccaro, seem to be having the time of their lives as mistresses of the shades of darkness (their ramshackle abode is a funhouse Ghost Train ride festooned with skeletons, spiders and tattered netting).
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Arthur Knight,
HollywoodReporter,
25 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for festoon
Cite this Entry
“Festoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/festoon. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
festoon
1 of 2 noun
festoon
2 of 2 verb
