DCHP-2

Tintamarre tintamarre < French tintamarre DCHP-2 (November 2016)

• n. — Maritime Provinces, especially Nova Scotia, Social customs

  a noisy procession celebrating Acadian culture.

  Type: 4. Culturally Significant — The term is a French loanword, with its first attestation in British English from 1567 (see OED-3, s.v. "tintamarre"). Barber (2007: 75) lists the term as part of the Acadian legacy and its cultural relevance for the Acadians is undisputed. Acadia was French territory that covered what is now Cape Breton (northern Nova Scotia), Prince Edward Island, most of New Brunswick and parts of Quebec and Maine. Beginning in 1755, the Acadians were forcibly exiled by the British, many to what is now Louisiana, where they came to be called "Cajuns". After France and Britain made peace in 1764, many Acadians returned to the Maritimes. The tradition was revived in 1955 and is part of National Acadian Day celebrations on 15 August (see the 2013 quotation) . The term tintamarre is most prevalent in Canada (see Chart 1).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "tintamarre", which is marked "Cdn".