debacchation

Etymology

Latin debacchatio.

debacchation means wild raving or debauchery, as if drunk. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “debacchation” is a great word

DEBACCHATION — [Noun] A state of wild, unrestrained raving or frenzied, drunken revelry, specifically evoking the madness of Bacchic rites. From the Latin debacchatio, from debacchari ("to rave, to revel wildly"), from de- (expressing intensity) + bacchari ("to celebrate the festival of Bacchus, to rage like a bacchant"). First attested in English in 1633 (William Prynne). Unlike "debauchery," which implies a sated, sensual indulgence, or "frenzy," which denotes any uncontrolled excitement, debacchation carries the specific, ancient weight of ritual madness. It is the torchlit whirl of limbs, the raw shriek over the rhythmic drum, and the wine poured over skin and earth; a deliberate, terrifying surrender where revelry becomes a form of annihilation, and civilization, for a night, willingly forgets its own name.

noun

wild raving or debauchery, as if drunk.“What confidence can such have of the suffrage of the saints, who defile their holiday with most foolish vanities, most impure pollutions, most wicked debacchations, and sacrilegious execrations.”