ceremony

1. (uncountable) A formal socially established behaviour, often in relation to people of different ranks; formality.Examples: "[…] to feed were best at home; From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony; Meeting were bare without it."; "Monsieur Bridet, notwithstanding his costume and his evident harrassment [sic], found in himself the presence of mind to remain the attentive manager, and with ceremony effected the proper introduction."; "They went into the bars and interrupted the drinking, hustling the men out without ceremony."uncountable

2. (uncountable) Show of magnificence, display, ostentation.Examples: "Meanwhile the winged Heralds, by command Of sovereign power, with awful ceremony And trumpet’s sound, throughout the host proclaim A solemn council forthwith to be held At Pandemonium […]"; "Immediately after her arrival, the queen rode forth to survey the camp and its environs: wherever she went, she was attended by a splendid retinue; and all the commanders vied with each other, in the pomp and ceremony with which they received her."uncountable

3. (obsolete) An accessory or object associated with a ritual.Examples: "[…] his ceremonies laid by, in his nakedness he appears but a man […]"; "[…] Well, believe this, No ceremony that to great ones ’longs, Not the king’s crown, nor the deputed sword, The marshal’s truncheon, nor the judge’s robe, Become them with one half so good a grace As mercy does."countableobsoleteuncountable

4. (obsolete) An omen or portent.Examples: "For he is superstitious grown of late, Quite from the main opinion he held once Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies."; "Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies, Yet now they fright me."countableobsoleteuncountable