different between anniversary vs occasion

English

Etymology

From Middle English anniversary, from Medieval Latin annivers?ria (di?s), annivers?rium, from annivers?rius (“yearly”), from annus (“year”) + vertere (“to turn”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?æn??v??s(?)?i/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?æn??v?s(?)?i/, /?æn??v?s(?)?i/

Noun

anniversary (plural anniversaries)

1. A day that is an exact number of years (to the day) since a given significant event occurred. Often preceded by an ordinal number indicating the number of years.

   Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the war.

   1. (especially) Such a day that commemorates a wedding.

      We are celebrating our tenth anniversary today.

2. (loosely) A day subsequent in time to a given event by some significant period other than a year (especially as prefixed by the amount of time in question).
   • 1984, ‘Never Mind the Tranquil Facade’, Time, 27 Feb 1984:

     The occasion was the six-month anniversary of the Aug. 8 coup that brought General Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores to power.

   • 2002, ‘Politics this Week’, The Economist, 14 Mar 2002:

     In a thinly veiled threat to Saddam Hussein, President George Bush marked the six-month anniversary of September 11th by reiterating America's commitment to prevent rogue countries obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

Synonyms

• yearday
• yeartide (rare, nonstandard)

Hyponyms

• birthday
• yahrzeit

Derived terms

• dateaversary
• meetaversary

Translations

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French occasion, from Old French occasiun, from Latin occasionem (accusative of occasio), noun of action from perfect passive participle occasus, from verb occido, from prefix ob- (“down", "away”) + verb cado (“fall”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??ke???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n
• Hyphenation: oc?ca?sion

Noun

occasion (countable and uncountable, plural occasions)

1. A favorable opportunity; a convenient or timely chance. [from 14th c.]
   • 1690, Edmund Waller, The Maids Tragedy Alter'd

     I'll take the occasion which he gives to bring / Him to his death.
2. The time when something happens.

3. An occurrence or state of affairs which causes some event or reaction; a motive or reason. [from 14th c.]

4. Something which causes something else; a cause. [from 14th c.]
   • 1624, John Smith, Generall Historie, in Kupperman 1988, p. 130:

     it were too vile to say, and scarce to be beleeved, what we endured: but the occasion was our owne, for want of providence, industrie and government [...].

5. (obsolete) An occurrence or incident. [14th-18th c.]
6. A particular happening; an instance or time when something occurred. [from 15th c.]
7. Need; requirement, necessity. [from 16th c.]
   • 1650, Jeremy Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living

     after we have served ourselves and our own occasions

   • 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

     when my occasions took me into France

8. A special event or function. [from 19th c.]

9. A reason or excuse; a motive; a persuasion.

Derived terms

• occasional
• on occasion
• rise to the occasion

Translations

Verb

occasion (third-person singular simple present occasions, present participle occasioning, simple past and past participle occasioned)

1. (transitive) To cause; to produce; to induce

   it is seen that the mental changes are occasioned by a change of polarity

Translations

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin occ?si?nem (accusative of occ?si?). Compare the inherited Old French ochoison, achaison (the latter being influenced by Latin acc?s?ti?).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?.ka.zj??/

Noun

occasion f (plural occasions)

1. occasion, opportunity
2. cause
3. bargain, good deal
4. secondhand or used item

Derived terms

Further reading

• “occasion” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).