From Old English (before 12th century), from Proto-Germanic '*glēwją' ("merriment, play, music").
Great delight; exuberant joy; also, an unaccompanied part-song for three or more voices, popular in 18th-century England.
From Old English 'glēo' or 'glīw' (mirth, jest, play, sport; also music, musical entertainment), from Proto-Germanic '*glēwją' or '*gliwją' (merriment, play). In Old English, 'glēo' was intimately connected to music — a 'gleoman' was a minstrel or entertainer, and 'glee-wood' meant a musical instrument (especially a harp). The musical sense survives in 'glee club,' which originally performed 'glees' — a specific type of English part-song
Words closest in meaning, ranked by similarity