joyeux French · revision 17580

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis|origins=la gaudium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʒwa.jø/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''joyeux''' (feminine joyeuse, masculine plural joyeux, feminine plural joyeuses)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French feminine [[m|fro|goiuse]] (about 1050), [[m|fro|joiuse]] (1080), masculine [[m|fro|joüs]], [[m|fro|joieus]] (about 1200); the spelling ''joyeux'' is from about 1360–1375, in Froissart.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|fr|joie|-eux]].^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) The noun continues [[la|gaudia]], the neuter plural of [[m|la|gaudium|t=joy]], common in familiar Latin and taken as a feminine singular.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The Grand Robert compares Latin [[m|la|iūcundus]],^(Grand Robert 2005) and Wiktionary [[m|la-lat|gaudiōsus]];^(Wiktionary) Littré thought that Latin [[m|la|iocōsus|t=playful]] might also have played a part.^(Littré 1873) Cognate with [[oc|joyos]] and [[it|gioioso]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) has the feminine ''goiuse'' for a person who feels joy; about 1100 the ''Chanson de Roland'' names Charlemagne's sword ''Joiuse'', “the joyful one”.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “full of joy, breathing joy” appears in Chrétien de Troyes's ''Yvain'' (1172), and about 1200 the Châtelain de Coucy uses it of what expresses joy.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) From the sense “bringing joy” came ''joyeux advenement'', the joyful accession of a king, in Froissart, and the old ''droit de joyeux avènement'', a tax paid to a new king.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) ''Mener joyeuse vie'', to lead a life of pleasure, is recorded by Furetière in 1690, and ''un joyeux luron'' in the 20th century.^(GLLF 1989) As a noun it once named a pastry (1469); by antiphrasis ''les joyeux'' were the soldiers of the African disciplinary battalions (1855), and in slang ''les joyeuses'' are the testicles (1881).^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Goiuse'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Joiuse'', the name of Charlemagne's sword.^(TLFi)

+ * 1172 – “Full of joy”, in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1360–1375 – The spelling ''joyeux''.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1469 – A pastry called ''joyeux''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1690 – ''Mener joyeuse vie'', in Furetière.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1855 – ''Joyeux'', a soldier of the African disciplinary companies.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Feeling [[joie|alt=joy]]; [[m|en|joyful|alt=Joyful]], [[gai|alt=merry]]: ''ils sont partis joyeux''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # Fond of laughing and enjoying oneself: ''un joyeux luron'', ''une joyeuse bande''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Expressing joy: ''des cris joyeux'', ''une joyeuse ambiance''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Bringing joy: ''une joyeuse nouvelle'', ''joyeux Noël !''^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''Mener joyeuse vie'': to lead a life of pleasure.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(military slang, dated)'' A soldier of the African light infantry battalions (''bataillons d'Afrique'').^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[joie]]

+ * [[joyeusement]]

+ * [[joyeuseté]]

+ * [[réjouir]]

+ * [[rabat-joie]]

+ * [[la|gaudium]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}