anniversary Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the date on which an event occurred in some previous year (or the celebration of it)
    day of remembrance.

WordNet

An`ni*ver"sa*ry adjective
Etymology
L. anniversarius; annus year + vertere, versum, to turn: cf. F. anniversaire.
Definitions
  1. Returning with the year, at a stated time; annual; yearly; as, an anniversary feast.
An`ni*ver"sa*ry noun
Etymology
Cf. F. anniversaire.
Wordforms
plural Anniversaries
Definitions
  1. The annual return of the day on which any notable event took place, or is wont to be celebrated; as, the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
  2. (R. C. Ch.) The day on which Mass is said yearly for the soul of a deceased person; the commemoration of some sacred event, as the dedication of a church or the consecration of a pope.
  3. The celebration which takes place on an anniversary day. Dryden.

Webster 1913