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Glite Dictionary
14 July

14 July

3.5
A national holiday in France that celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789
  • noun
translation icon : 14 de julio
  • Every year, the people of France celebrate 14 July with fireworks and parades to honor their national day.

Examples

  • On 14 July, many French citizens gather in public squares to commemorate the beginning of the French Revolution.

  • The significance of 14 July is evident in the large celebrations held in cities across France each year.

  • Several newspapers show Dr. Walter Walsh speaking in Steinway Hall, London, on both 7 and 14 July on the subject of "The Centenary of H.D. Thoreau." (n5)

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

Bastille Day
vs14 July
5 2.9

A national holiday in France on July 14 that marks the storming of the Bastille in 1789

is the same holiday but shown by its calendar date instead

Surface Forms

14 July singular

Morphology

fourteen + July

Knowing 'fourteen' and 'July' yields only the date (the 14th of July) and does not by itself indicate the cultural/political meaning. The specific sense 'national holiday in France commemorating the storming of the Bastille' is culturally specific knowledge and cannot be derived from the constituent words, so it would be opaque to a B1 learner.

Etymology

14 July comes from a famous day in 1789 when people in Paris stormed the Bastille prison, an event seen as the 'start of the French Revolution'. So the date became a national day of celebration with parades, fireworks and public parties.