Kermesse is a Dutch language term that was borrowed in English, Italian, French and many other languages. Derived from ‘kerk‘ (church) and ‘mis‘ (mass), it originally denoted the mass said on the anniversary of the foundation of a church, in honour of the patron.
kermesse
country fair / festival
Kermesse is an invariable feminine noun, which means that its form doesn’t change in the plural. Here are its definite and indefinite articles:
- la kermesse
- una kermesse
- le kermesse
- delle kermesse
In modern Italian, the word is used to mean country fair or festival, or even more broadly, any gathering, exhibition or public event of considerable importance.
For instance, the Festival della Canzone Italiana di Sanremo (The Italian Song Festival of Sanremo), which is the most popular song contest and awards ceremony in the country, is often referred to as a kermesse.
La kermesse della canzone italiana inizierà domani sera.
The Italian song festival will start tomorrow evening.
In the world of sport, kermesse also refers to a style of road bicycle race that is common in Western Europe.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
