Thesmophoria

noun

Thes·mo·pho·ria

ˌthezməˈfōrēə

plural -s

: a festival of Demeter as Thesmophoros or of Demeter and Kore celebrated by women and having as its essential ceremony the casting of pigs into chasms of the earth and the bringing up of their decaying flesh to be mixed with seed to insure fertility

Thesmophorian

¦⸗⸗¦⸗⸗ən

adjective

Thesmophoric

¦⸗⸗¦fȯrik

adjective

Word History

Etymology

Latin (plural), from Greek, from thesmophoros giving laws (epithet of Demeter), from thesmos law, ordinance (from tithenai to put, lay down) + -phoros -phore