Etymology and origin of the English word happiness
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- c. 1473 Caxton, Recuyell of Historyes More words from the 15th century
- Ultimate origin
- English hap,-y,-ness
From the same root
Pronunciation
- /ˈhæpinɪs/, /ˈhæpinəs/[1]
Etymology
It is formed from English happy + -ness.[2][3][4][5][6] The adjective is from hap (“chance, fortune”) with the suffix -y.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Good fortune, success: about 1473, in Caxton's translation of Le Fèvre, the Recuyell of Historyes.[2] Merriam-Webster also dates it to the 15th century,[5] while Etymonline gives the 1520s and Dictionary.com 1520–30.[3][6]
Semantic evolution
The word first followed the older sense of happy, "lucky, favoured by fortune".[3] The sense of a contented state of mind is recorded by the OED from before 1500, in Ratis Raving,[2] whereas Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford date it to the late 16th century.[3][4] An instance or cause of good fortune follows in 1540, later often in plural formulas of good wishes, such as ten thousand happinesses, modelled on a Chinese blessing.[2] The sense of aptness or felicity, especially of expression, appears from 1550, in Sherry's Treatise of Schemes and Tropes.[2] Johnson (1755) already put the state of satisfied desire first, then "good luck", then "fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace".[7] Francis Hutcheson used the phrase greatest happiness for the greatest number in 1725, though it was later associated with Bentham.[3] The formula happiness is ——, naming what brings contentment, is dated by the OED from a caption by C. M. Schulz in the Chicago Tribune of 1960.[2] The sense of good fortune is now rare.[2][5]
Timeline
- c. 1473 – good fortune, success.[2] Etymonline dates this to the 1520s.[3]
- before 1500 – pleasurable contentment of mind.[2] Etymonline dates this to the 1590s.[3]
- 1540 – an instance or cause of good fortune.[2]
- 1550 – aptness, felicity.[2]
- 1637 – an instance or source of pleasure.[2]
- 1725 – greatest happiness for the greatest number.[3]
- 1960 – happiness is ——.[2]
Meanings
Noun
- A state of well-being and contentment; deep pleasure in one's circumstances: Their happiness was plain to everyone at the reunion.[5][8][2]
- An experience or thing that gives pleasure.[5][8][2]
- (Aristotelianism) Eudaemonia.[5]
- (rare) Aptness or felicity, especially of expression.[5][8][2][7]
- (archaic) Good fortune; luck; prosperity.[5][8][2][7]
Word family
- unhappiness
- overhappiness
Related words
Usage notes
Dictionary.com distinguishes it from three near-synonyms: happiness comes from having or reaching what one considers good, bliss is unmixed delight, contentment is a peaceful kind of happiness without further desires, and felicity is a formal word for an especially fortunate or intense happiness.[6]
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
- ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
- ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry
“Happiness.” Etymologically, 5 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/happiness. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.
Last edited on . ·