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joyous

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Etymology and origin of the English word joyous

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1300
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman joyous via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin gaudium

Pronunciation

  • /ˈd͡ʒɔɪəs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English joious, also joieus,[2] borrowed from Anglo-Norman joyous, Old French joios or joieus,[3][4][5][6] now joyeux.[3][4] The Anglo-Norman adjective, meaning happy or joyful, is recorded from the early 12th century.[7] It is formed from joie (“joy”) with the suffix -os, the source of English -ous.[8][6] The noun joie, the source of joy, comes from Latin gaudia, the plural of gaudium (“joy, gladness”).[4][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Glad or happy, also glad of something: about 1300, in two Middle English saints' lives.[2][3] Etymonline also dates the word to about 1300.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the start the Middle English word described both a person who feels joy and a thing that causes it;[2] the OED dates the second use, of things and events, from 1475.[3] Chaucer has the word once.[10] Johnson (1755) defined it as "glad; gay; merry", quoting Spenser and Milton.[11] Collins treats it today as a synonym of joyful.[12][8] In Staffordshire dialect joyous once meant slightly drunk.[13]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – glad, happy; glad of something.[2][3]
  • c. 1315 – of a joyful nature or mood; expressing joy.[3]
  • 1475 – of things and events, causing joy, gladdening.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Full of or showing joy; happy and cheerful by nature or mood: a joyous child.[12][3][5]
  2. Causing or marked by joy; joyful: The reunion was a joyous occasion.[12][8][5]

Word family

  • joyously
  • joyousness
  • unjoyous
  • overjoyous

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  8. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  10. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  13. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Joyous.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/joyous. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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