joy

joy

See also: Joy

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: joi, IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɔɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪ

Etymology 1

From Middle English joye, borrowed from Old French joie, from Late Latin gaudia, neuter plural (mistaken as feminine singular) of Latin gaudium (“joy”), from gaudēre (“to be glad, rejoice”). Doublet of jo and gaudy (“Oxford college reunion”). Displaced native Old English ġefēa.

Noun

joy (countable and uncountable, plural joys)

1. A feeling of extreme happiness or cheerfulness, especially related to the acquisition or expectation of something good.

   a child's joy on Christmas morning

   • 1620, Giovanni Bocaccio, John Florio, transl., The Decameron, Containing an Hundred Pleaſant Nouels: Wittily Diſcourſed, Betweene Seuen Honourable Ladies, and Three Noble Gentlemen‎, Isaac Iaggard, Nouell 8, The Eighth Day:

     […] purſued his vnneighbourly purpoſe in ſuch ſort: that hee being the ſtronger perſwader, and ſhe (belike) too credulous in beleeuing or elſe ouer-feeble in reſiſting, from priuate imparlance, they fell to action; and continued their cloſe fight a long while together, vnſeene and vvithout ſuſpition, no doubt to their equall ioy and contentment.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, OCLC 4293071:

     It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.

   They will be a source of strength and joy in your life.

2. Anything that causes such a feeling.

   the joys and demands of parenthood

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, 1 Thessalonians 2:20:

     For, ye are our glory and ioy.

   • 1818, John Keats, “Book I”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] [T. Miller] for Taylor and Hessey, […], OCLC 1467112, page 1:

     A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

3. Luck or success; a positive outcome.
   • 2012, Colin Owen, Colin's Shorts (volume 2, page 65)

     Grant had no joy with taking a nap, so he began to systematically feel if everything was working: fingers and toes, etc.

   • 2012, Robert Stansbridge, Bia's Wedding (page 4)

     'Rob? It's Gary. Are you having any joy with this trip to Bali?' 'No joy at all, mate. I reckon Bali's out for the foreseeable future. […]

4. (obsolete) The sign or exhibition of joy; gaiety; merriment; festivity.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, stanza 32:

     Such ioy made Vna, when her knight she found;

   • 1717, John Dryden [et al.], “(please specify |book=I to XV)”, in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 731548838:

     The roofs with joy resound.

Antonyms

• (feeling of happiness): infelicity, joylessness, unhappiness, unjoy

Derived terms

Terms derived from joy

• bundle of joy
• burst with joy
• cocky's joy
• enjoy
• enjoyment
• filled with joy
• jollily
• jolliness
• jolly
• joyance
• joyancy
• joyant
• joydom
• joyful
• joyfully
• joyfulness
• joygasm
• joyhood
• joyless
• joylessly
• joylessness
• joyment
• joyness
• joyous
• joyously
• joyousness
• joy ride
• joysome
• joysomeness
• joystick
• jump for joy
• killjoy
• no joy
• non-joyous
• overjoy
• pride and joy
• rejoice
• rejoicement
• traveller's joy
• unjolly
• unjoy
• unjoyous

 

Descendants

• Krio: jɔy

Translations

feeling of happiness

Albanian: gaz (sq) m Arabic: سُرُور‎ (ar) m (surūr), فَرَح‎ (ar) m (faraḥ) Armenian: հրճվանք (hy) (hrčvankʿ), ուրախություն (hy) (uraxutʿyun) Azerbaijani: sevinc (az), fərəh (az), şadlıq Belarusian: ра́дасць f (rádascʹ) Bengali: আনন্দ (anôndô) Bulgarian: ра́дост (bg) f (rádost) Burmese: ပီတိ (my) (piti.), သောမနဿ (my) (sau:ma.na.ssa.) Buryat: баяр (bajar) Catalan: alegria (ca) f, joia (ca) f Chinese: Cantonese: 歡喜, 欢喜 (fun1 hei2), 歡樂, 欢乐 (fun1 lok6), 喜悅, 喜悦 (hei2 jyut6), 喜樂, 喜乐 (hei2 lok6) Mandarin: 歡喜／欢喜 (zh) (huānxǐ), 歡樂／欢乐 (zh) (huānlè), 喜悅／喜悦 (zh) (xǐyuè), 喜樂／喜乐 (zh) (xǐlè) Min Nan: 歡喜 (zh-min-nan), 欢喜 (zh-min-nan) (hoaⁿ-hí), 喜樂, 喜乐 (hí-lo̍k) Wu: 高興, 高兴 (kau xin), 快樂, 快乐 (khua loq) Classical Nahuatl: pāquiliztli Coptic: ⲣⲁϣⲓ m (raši) Czech: radost (cs) f Danish: glæde c, lykke (da) c Dutch: vreugde (nl) f Egyptian: (rš m), (ršrš m) Esperanto: ĝojo Estonian: rõõm Faroese: gleði f Finnish: ilo (fi), riemu (fi), onni (fi) French: joie (fr) f Galician: ledicia (gl) f Georgian: სიხარული (sixaruli), სიამოვნება (siamovneba), მხიარულება (mxiaruleba) German: Freude (de) f Gilbertese: kukurei Gothic: 𐍆𐌰𐌷𐌴𐌸𐍃 f (fahēþs) Greek: χαρά (el) f (chará) Ancient: χαρά f (khará) Greenlandic: pilluarneq Guaraní: vy'a (gn) Hawaiian: ʻoliʻoli Hebrew: שִׂמְחָה‎ (he) f (simkhá) Hindi: हर्ष (hi) m (harṣ), आनंद (hi) m (ānand), ख़ुशी f (xuśī), सुख (hi) m (sukh) Hungarian: öröm (hu) Icelandic: gleði (is) f Ido: joyo (io) Indonesian: kebahagiaan (id), kegembiraan (id), kesenangan (id), keceriaan (id) Irish: áthas m, lúcháir f Italian: gioia (it) f, allegria (it) f, felicità (it) f, piacere (it) m Japanese: 喜び (ja) (よろこび, yorokobi) Kaqchikel: kikotemal (cak) Kazakh: шаттық (şattyq) Khmer: តុស្តី (tohsdəy), បាមោជ្ជ (km) (paamaoccĕəʼ), បីតិ (km) (pəyteʼ), ប្រមោទ (km) (prɑmaot) Korean: 즐거움 (ko) (jeulgeoum), 기쁨 (ko) (gippeum) Krio: jɔy Kurdish: Central Kurdish: خۆشی‎ (ku) (xoşî) Northern Kurdish: xoşî (ku) Kyrgyz: шаттык (ky) (şattık), кубаныч (ky) (kubanıç), суйүнүч (suyünüç) K'iche':ki'kotemal (quc) Ladino: alegriya f Lao: ຜາສຸກ (phā suk), ປີຕິ (pī ti), ຄວາມສຸກ (lo) (khuām suk) Latgalian: prīca f, prīceiba, ļuste Latin: gaudium n, gaudimonium n, laetitia f Latvian: prieks m Lithuanian: džiaugsmas (lt) m Macedonian: радост f (radost) Malay: kegembiraan Maltese: ferħ m Manchu: ᠰᡝᠪᠵᡝᠨ (sebjen) Manx: boggey m Maori: mākoakoa, hurō Mongolian: баяр (mn) (bajar) Navajo: ił hózhǫ́ Norwegian: Bokmål: fryd (no) m, glede (no) c Nynorsk: fryd m, frygd f, glede f Old Church Slavonic: Cyrillic: радость f (radostĭ) Old English: ġefēa m Oromo: gammachuu Pali: pīti f Pashto: آغې‎ (ps) f (āǧé), خشالي‎ (xašālí), سرور‎ m (sarúr), خوښي‎ (ps) f (xwaӽí) Persian: سرور‎ (fa) (sorur), کروز‎ (fa) (koruz), شادی‎ (fa) (šâdi), خرسندی‎ (fa) (xorsandi), خوشی‎ (fa) (xoši) Pipil: pākilis Plautdietsch: Freid f, Häaj f Polish: uciecha (pl), radość (pl) Portuguese: alegria (pt) f Quechua: q'uchu Romanian: fericire (ro) f, bucurie (ro) f, jovialitate (ro) f, veselie (ro) f, voioșie (ro) Russian: ра́дость (ru) f (rádostʹ), весе́лье (ru) n (vesélʹje) Sanskrit: हर्ष (sa) m (harṣa), सुख (sa) (sukha), नान्दी (sa) f (nāndī), प्रमोद (sa) m (pramoda), रण (sa) m (raṇa) Scottish Gaelic: àigh m, sogan m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: радост f, весеље n, срећа f Roman: radost (sh) f, veselje (sh) n, sreća f Slovak: radosť f Slovene: radost (sl) f Somali: farax Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: wjasele n Spanish: alegría (es) f, gozo (es) m, felicidad (es), júbilo (es), regocijo (es) Swahili: furaha (sw) Swedish: glädje (sv) c, lycka (sv) Tajik: шодӣ (tg) (šodī), хурсандӣ (tg) (xursandī) Tamil: இன்பம் (ta) (iṉpam), மகிழ்ச்சி (ta) (makiḻcci) Telugu: సంతోషం (te) (santōṣaṁ) Thai: สุข (th) (sùk), กำหนัด (th) (gam-nàt), ปิติ (bpì-dtì), ดุษฎี (th) (dùt-sà-dii) Tocharian B: katkauña, plānto Turkish: haz (tr), sevinç (tr), keyif (tr), mutluluk (tr), zevk (tr), neşe (tr), şetaret (tr) Turkmen: şatlyk, begenç (tk) Ugaritic: 𐎌𐎎𐎃𐎚 (šmḫt) Ukrainian: ра́дість f (rádistʹ) Urdu: آنند‎ (ur) m (ānand), خوشی‎ f (xuśī) Uyghur: خۇشاللىق‎ (xushalliq) Uzbek: xursandlik (uz), shodlik (uz) Venetian: ałegrézsa f, ałegrìa f Welsh: llawenydd (cy) m Yiddish: פֿרייד‎ f (freyd) Zulu: injabulo (zu)

Etymology 2

From Middle English joyen, joȝen, joien, from Old French jöir, from the noun (see above).

Verb

joy (third-person singular simple present joys, present participle joying, simple past and past participle joyed)

1. (intransitive) To feel joy, to rejoice.
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter IX, in Le Morte Darthur, book XVII:

     for oftymes or this oure lord shewed hym vnto good men and vnto good knyghtes in lykenes of an herte But I suppose from hens forth ye shalle see no more / and thenne they Ioyed moche / and dwelled ther alle that day / And vpon the morowe whan they had herde masse / they departed and commaunded the good man to god

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

   • 1829, Walter Scott, Anne of Geierstein, Edinburgh: Cadell, Volume 3, Chapter 8, p. 222,

     I joy to see you wear around your neck the holy relic I bestowed on you;—but what Moorish charmlet is that you wear beside it?

   • 1885, Richard Francis Burton (translator), The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Night 18, “Tale of the Portress,” p. 178,

     I swore readily enough to this and he joyed with exceeding joy and embraced me round the neck while love for him possessed my whole heart.

2. (transitive, archaic) To enjoy.
   • 1594 (first publication), Christopher Marlow[e], The Trovblesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edvvard the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, OCLC 837836359, (please specify the page):

     I haue my wish, in that I ioy thy sight,

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938, page 5:

     For from the time that Scudamour her bought,
     In perilous fight, she neuer ioyed day […] .

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book [HTTPS://EN.WIKISOURCE.ORG/WIKI/PARADISE_LOST_(1674)/BOOK_IX 9]”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554, lines 1164-1168:

     Is this the Love, is this the recompence
     Of mine to thee, ingrateful Eve, exprest
     Immutable when thou wert lost, not I,
     Who might have liv’d and joyd immortal bliss,
     Yet willingly chose rather Death with thee:

3. (transitive, obsolete) To give joy to; to congratulate.
   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 228732415, book III, page 88:

     Then round our Death-bed ev'ry Friend ſhou'd run, / And joy us of our Conqueſt, early won: […]

   • 1709, Mat[thew] Prior, “(please specify the poem)”, in Poems on Several Occasions, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], OCLC 1103119849, page 405:

     Evil like Us they shun, and covet Good;
     Abhor the Poison, and receive the Food.
     Like Us they love or hate: like Us they know,
     To joy the Friend, or grapple with the Foe.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To gladden; to make joyful; to exhilarate.
   • c. 1607–1608, William Shakeſpeare, The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: Imprinted at London for Henry Goſſon,  […], published 1609, OCLC 78596089, [Act I, scene 2]:

     Yet neither pleasure’s art can joy my spirits,
     Nor yet the other’s distance comfort me.

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Uzbek

Etymology

From Persian جای‎ (jây).

Noun

joy (plural joylar)

1. place

Derived terms

• joylashmoq