congratulate

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the past participle of congrātulor (“to wish joy”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} perhaps through Middle French congratuler,^[4] formed from com- (“together, with”) and grātulor (“to give thanks, show joy”),^[2][7][8] from grātus (“pleasing, agreeable”),^[2][9][3] from Proto-Indo-European *gwere- (“to favor”).^[2][7] Barnhart traces grātulor to an earlier *grātitulor, from a lost adjective meaning "thanks-bringing", from grātēs (“thanks”);^[4] he also allows that the English verb may be a back-formation from the earlier congratulation (1438).^[4] The French verb is recorded from the 14th century and is now somewhat archaic.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

To address a person with expressions of joy at a fortunate event: the OED's first quotation is from Hall's Union (1548),^[10] the year Barnhart also gives;^[4] Merriam-Webster dates the first known use to 1539,^[3] and Etymonline to the 1540s.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the late 16th and 17th centuries the verb was used in several constructions now lost: intransitively, to rejoice along with another (1587–1824); with the event as object, to express joy at it (1587–1819), or to celebrate it with some act (1583–1661); and to rejoice at or hail something (before 1631 to 1740).^[10][11] It could also mean to salute or greet (1589–1611),^[10][3] which Collins still lists as obsolete.^[12] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to compliment upon any happy event".^[13][10] The reflexive use, to count oneself fortunate or clever, is recorded from 1664,^[10] and the plural noun congratulations from 1632, with the clipped congrats from 1884.^[4]

Timeline

• 1438 – the noun congratulation.^[4]
• 1539 – first known use according to Merriam-Webster.^[3]
• 1548 – to address a person with expressions of joy.^[10][4]
• 1583 – to celebrate with some act (obsolete).^[10]
• 1587 – to rejoice along with another (obsolete).^[10]
• 1589 – to salute (obsolete).^[10]
• 1632 – the plural congratulations.^[4]
• 1664 – reflexive, to account oneself fortunate.^[10]
• 1884 – congrats.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To express pleasure to someone at their success or good fortune, usually followed by on or for: We congratulated the twins on their exam results.^[12][3][10]
2. To think oneself clever or lucky because of something: He congratulated himself on finding a parking space.^[12][10][3]
3. (archaic) To express joy or satisfaction at an event.^[3][10][11]
4. (archaic) To rejoice together with others.^[3][10]
5. (obsolete) To salute or greet.^[3][12][10]

Word family

• congratulator
• congratulatory
• uncongratulated
• uncongratulating
• congratulant

Related words

• congratulation
• grateful
• gratitude
• grace
• gratuitous

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.