carouse means A large draught of liquor. It carries an Arena rating of 1721, earned across 6 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, carouse ranks #210 of 12,586 for Funniest Words, #5,250 of 12,566 for Most Satisfying to Say, #8,707 of 12,358 for The Improbable, #11,347 of 12,566 for Most Beautiful Words.
carouse is pronounced /kəˈɹaʊz/.
Why “carouse” is a great word
A large draught of liquor or a bout of noisy, drunken revelry. It springs from the German command *gar aus* (literally “all out”), from *gar austrinken* (“to drink up entirely, guzzle”), entering English via Middle French *carousser* in the mid-16th century. Unlike a “revel,” which may be merely boisterous, or a “tipple,” which is quiet and habitual, to carouse is to commit to an audible, communal excess. It is the clatter of empty tankards on a scarred wooden table, the raw-throated chorus of a forgotten song, and the slow, deliberate spill of the last dregs across the floor—a fleeting, purchased warmth against the encroaching cold, a pact with tomorrow’s despair.
Etymology
From Middle French carousser (“to quaff, drink, swill”), from German gar aus (literally “all out, quite out”), from gar austrinken (“to drink up entirely, guzzle”). Compare German Garaus.
noun
- A large draught of liquor.“[…] therefore forward I went with my hey-de-gaies to Ilford, where I againe reſted, and was by the people of the towne and countrey there-about very very wel welcomed, being offred carowſes in the great ſpoon, one whole draught being able at that time to haue drawne my little wit drye; […]”
- A drinking bout; a carousal.“The early feast and late carouse.”
verb
- To engage in a noisy or drunken social gathering.“We are all going to carouse at Brian's tonight.”
- To drink to excess.“If I survive this headache, I promise no more carousing at Brian’s.”