Diwali
noun
Di·wa·li də-ˈwä-lē 
-ˈvä-
variants or less commonly Divali or Dewali
plural Diwalis also Divalis or Dewalis
: a Hindu festival of lights held late in October
Candlelight and lanterns are traditional beacons of autumn and winter for many cultures—from Diwali to Christmas to Hanukkah—as communities usher in longer nights.
Leeta-Rose Ballester
Leeta-Rose Ballester
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Hindi dīvālī, divālī, going back to Middle Indo-Aryan dīvālī-, dīvāvalī-, going back to Sanskrit dīpāvaliḥ "row of lights, the Diwali festival," from dīpaḥ "lamp, light" (noun extracted from dīpayati "[s/he] sets alight, lights, illuminates," causative derivative from the base of dī́deti "[it] shines, is bright") + āvaliḥ "row, line" (of uncertain origin) — more at psychedelic entry 1
First Known Use
1698, in the meaning defined above