Cèilidh

A cèilidh (/ˈkeɪli/ KAY-lee, Scottish Gaelic: [ˈkʲʰeːlɪ]) or céilí (Irish: [ˈceːlʲiː]) is a traditional Scottish and Irish social gathering. In its most basic form, it simply means a social visit. In contemporary usage, it usually involves dancing and playing Gaelic folk music, either at a home or a larger concert at a social hall or other community gathering place.

Cèilidhean (plural of cèilidh) and céilithe (plural of céilí) originated in the Gaelic areas of Scotland and Ireland and are consequently common in the Scottish and Irish diasporas. They are similar to the troyl traditions in Cornwall and twmpath and noson lawen events in Wales, merry neets in Cumbria and North East England, as well as English country dance throughout England which have in some areas undergone a fusion with céilithe.

The term is derived from the Old Irish céle (singular) meaning 'companion'. It later became céilidh and céilidhe, which means 'visit' in Gaelic. In Scottish Gaelic reformed spelling it is spelt cèilidh (plural cèilidhean) and in Irish reformed spelling as céilí (plural céilithe).

Originally, a cèilidh was a social gathering of any sort, and did not necessarily involve dancing:

The 'ceilidh' is a literary entertainment where stories and tales, poems and ballads, are rehearsed and recited, and songs are sung, conundrums are put, proverbs are quoted, and many other literary matters are related and discussed

— Carmichael, Alexander, Carmina Gadelica, 1900, tome I, p. xxviii.

The ceilidh of the Western Hebrides corresponds to the veillée of Lower Brittany ... and to similar story-telling festivals which formerly flourished among all the Celtic peoples

— Wentz, W. Y. Evans, The Fairy-faith in Celtic countries, Oxford University Press, 1911, p. 32.