garden partyn.
/ˈɡɑːdn ˌpɑːti/, U.S. /ˈɡɑrdən ˌpɑrdi/ A social event, often a large formal gathering, held in a garden.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > party > [noun] > garden-party
garden party1845
lawn-party1852
1845 Morning Post 2 June 6/3 Fashionable arrangements for the week. To-day. Lady Foulis' ball in Grosvenor-place... Thursday. Mrs. Monk's garden party.
1869 A. Trollope Phineas Finn II. lxiv. 228 The Duke's garden party was becoming a mere ball, with privilege for the dancers to stroll about the lawn between the dances.
1903 F. A. Bardswell Bk. Town & Window Gardening xii. 71 Nobody should..make much noise if one or other of the neighbours has a garden-party. (Suburbia revels in garden-parties.)
1954 Austral. Women's Weekly 17 Mar. 31/1 I only wear my white linen suit when I'm going to a garden party or some very important function.
2001 Daily Tel. 12 June 3/1 At what was described as a cross between a royal garden party and Oscar night, the grounds of Waddesdon Manor..were buzzing with A-list guests.
Compounds
General attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > social gathering > party > [adjective] > other parties
garden party1872
BYO1965
1872 Field Q. Mag. & Rev. May 152/2 The book opens with a slight historical sketch of the game..; then come a few remarks on grounds, garden party croquet, match play, and implements.
1896 Westm. Gaz. 25 June 2/3 The garden party season is now beginning.
1920 E. F. Benson Queen Lucia v. 89 Her outrageous conduct about the garden-party invitation.
1983 Guardian (Nexis) 24 July 20 The Archbishop of Canterbury..gave a garden party air to an already frantically social scene.
2015 Daily Tel. 12 Dec. (Mag.) Edward, Prince of Wales, was among the garden-party guests.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1845