mehfil

English

Etymology

From Urdu محفل (mahfil), from Arabic مَحْفِل (maḥfil, “festive gathering to entertain or praise someone”).

Noun

mehfil (plural mehfils)

  1. In parts of South Asia, a gathering where poetry or classical music is performed for a small audience in an intimate setting.
    • 1993, William Dalrymple, City of Djinns, Penguin, published 2004, page 168:
      One of the most interesting descriptions in the Muraqqa’ is of the famous mehfils, the literary or musical evenings for which the city was then renowned.
    • 1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 176:
      The entire mehfil was babbling away but Bahadur's tense silence rang like an alarm in my head.
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