joy English · revision 4534

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la gaudere}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dʒɔɪ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|joie]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) [[bor|fro|joie|t=pleasure, delight, bliss]] (11th century),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Latin [[m|la|gaudia]], plural of gaudium “joy, gladness”, taken as a feminine singular,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from gaudēre “to rejoice”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Cresswell 2021) from [[ine-pro|*gau-|t=to rejoice]],^(Etymonline) also the source of Greek gēthein “to rejoice”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[enjoy]], [[rejoice]] and [[gaudy]].^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A feeling of pleasure and delight: about 1200 in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) probably before 1200 in Barnhart, in the Ancrene Riwle,^(Barnhart 1988) before 1225 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A source of pleasure is from about 1300,^(Etymonline) or about 1275 in the OED,^(OED 1989) as is a state of happiness, especially the bliss of heaven.^(OED 1989) As a term of endearment it is from the 1580s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Joyful'' is from about 1250,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''joyous'' from about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, to feel gladness, is from the mid-13th century,^(Etymonline) but it is now largely displaced by enjoy and rejoice;^(Etymonline) in Middle English ''joy with the hands'' meant to clap.^(Etymonline) The colloquial ''no joy'', no success, is from 1945.^(OED 1989) ''Joyride'' is American, from 1908–09,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and ''joystick'' later.^(AHD) In the south of England joy was also a dialect name for the jay.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – gladness, delight.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1250 – ''joyful''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * mid-13th century – verb.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1275 – a source of joy.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1580s – a term of endearment.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1908 – ''joyride''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1945 – ''no joy''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Intense [[happiness]] or delight.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or thing that causes delight: ''she's a joy to work with''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The expression of such [[feeling]].^(AHD)

+ # ''(British informal)'' Success or satisfaction: ''any joy with the plumber?''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(literary)'' To rejoice.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[joyless]]

+ * [[joylessly]]

+ * [[joylessness]]

+ * [[kill-joy]]

+ * [[joypop]]

+ * [[joyride]]

+ * [[enjoy]]

+ * [[enjoyment]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rejoice]]

+ * [[gaudy]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}