glad English · revision 2839

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=gem-pro *gladaz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡlæd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|glad|t=shining; joyful]],^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|glæd|t=bright, shining; joyous; gracious]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*gladaz]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is cognate with Old Norse glaðr “smooth, bright, glad”, Old Frisian gled “smooth”, Dutch glad “slippery” and German glatt “smooth”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) and outside Germanic with [[la|glaber|t=smooth, bald]], the source of [[glabrous]], and Old Church Slavonic gladŭkŭ “even, polished”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline derives it from [[ine-pro|*ghel-|t=to shine]];^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster compares Old English geolu “yellow”.^(MWU 2024) The verb is Old English gladian, from the adjective.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English glæd, about 725 in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) meant “bright, shining, beautiful”^(OED 1989)^(Cresswell 2021) as well as “joyous, pleasant, gracious”.^(Etymonline) Of persons, “cheerful, joyous by disposition”, it is from about 897.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The meaning has weakened over time:^(Cresswell 2021) from “bright, shining”, apparently with the notion of being radiant with joy,^(Etymonline) it came to mean “delighted, rejoicing”, and now usually just “pleased”.^(Cresswell 2021) The sense “bright, shining” became obsolete,^(OED 1989) while “cheerful by nature” is now archaic.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989) The sense “pleased about an event or state of things” is from about 950.^(OED 1989) Old English also had glæd as a noun, “joy, gladness”, obsolete since the early 17th century.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) ''Glad rags'', one's best clothes, is American slang from about 1902,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) and ''the glad eye'', an inviting look, British from about the same time.^(Cresswell 2021) In Scots and northern dialect glad could mean “working smoothly, slippery”, close to the German sense.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – bright, shining; joyous.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 825 – verb, to make glad.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 897 – cheerful in disposition.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 950 – pleased about something.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1902 – ''glad rags''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Feeling or showing [[joy]] and pleasure; pleased.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Giving joy or pleasure: ''glad tidings''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Very willing: ''glad to help''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Bright and [[cheerful]]; cheerful by nature.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(archaic)'' To [[gladden]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gladly]]

+ * [[gladness]]

+ * [[gladden]]

+ * [[glad-hand]]

+ * [[gladsome]]

+ * [[overglad]]

+ * [[unglad]]

+ * [[glad rags]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[glabrous]]

+ * [[glide]]

+ * [[glass]]

+ * [[yellow]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Of the adjectives for good spirits, ''glad'' usually describes the satisfaction of a wish or with present circumstances, while ''happy'' is more general and ''joyful'' and ''joyous'' are stronger.^(AHD) A separate noun ''glad'', usually plural, is a colloquial shortening of [[gladiolus]] from 1923.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}