From Latin 'gaudium' (delight), from PIE *geh2w- — 'enjoy' means 'to put into joy,' 'rejoice' means 'to joy again.'
A feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
From Old French joie (joy, pleasure, delight), from Late Latin gaudia (plural of gaudium, joy, inward delight), from Latin gaudēre (to rejoice, be glad), from PIE *gāw- (to rejoice). The Proto-Indo-European root *gāw- conveyed inner gladness and satisfaction. In Latin, gaudēre was a deponent verb — passive in form but active in meaning — which linguists note may reflect an archaic middle voice suggesting that joy was
'Joy,' 'enjoy,' and 'rejoice' all come from the same Latin root 'gaudēre' (to be glad). To 'enjoy' is to 'put into joy' (en + joy). To 'rejoice' is to 'joy again' (re + joy). And the word 'gaudy' may also be related — originally meaning 'joyful, festive' before acquiring its current sense of 'tastelessly showy.'
Words closest in meaning, ranked by similarity