The 'ght' in 'delight' is a spelling error — scribes falsely matched it to 'light' and 'night.'
Great pleasure, joy, or satisfaction; something that gives great pleasure.
From Middle English 'delit,' from Old French 'delit' (pleasure, delight), from 'delitier' (to please, to charm), from Latin 'dēlectāre' (to allure, to charm, to delight), a frequentative of 'dēlicere' (to entice away), from 'dē-' (away) + 'lacere' (to entice, to lure). The modern spelling with '-ght' is a false analogy: Middle English scribes, seeing words like 'light,' 'night,' and 'might,' respelled 'delit' as 'delight' — though the word has no etymological connection to 'light.' The silent '-gh-' is pure spelling fiction. Key roots: dē- (Latin: "away, from"), lacere (Latin: "to
The '-ght' in 'delight' is a spelling error frozen into standard English. The Middle English form was 'delit' (from French), but scribes respelled it 'delight' by false analogy with 'light,' 'night,' and 'might.' The word has no etymological connection to light — it comes from Latin 'dēlectāre' (to charm), not