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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Ceremonial


CEREMONIAL, adjective [See Ceremony.]

1. Relating to ceremony, or external rite; ritual; according to the forms of established rites; as ceremonial exactness. It is particularly applied to the forms and rites of the Jewish religion; as the ceremonial law or worship, as distinguished from the moral and judicial law.

2. Formal; observant of old forms; exact; precise in manners.

[In this sense, ceremonious is now used.]

CEREMONIAL, noun

1. Outward form; external rite, or established forms or rites, including all the forms prescribed; a system of rules and ceremonies, enjoined by law or established by custom, whether in religious worship, in social intercourse, or in the courts of princes.

2. The order for rites and forms in the Romish church, or the book containing the rules prescribed to be observed on solemn occasions.