happiness
(noun) emotions experienced when in a state of well-being
happiness, felicity
(noun) state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
Source: WordNet® 3.1
happiness (countable and uncountable, plural happinesses)
(uncountable) The emotion of being happy; joy.
(archaic, uncountable) prosperity, thriving, wellbeing.
(archaic, uncountable) Good luck; good fortune.
(obsolete, countable) Fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace; — used especially of language.
Happiness is generic, and is applied to almost every kind of enjoyment.
• felicity (somewhat dated or formal)
• blessedness (dated or religious)
• bliss (more exalted delight, suggesting heaven)
• joy
• pleasure
• unhappiness
• haplessness
• suffering
Source: Wiktionary
Hap"pi*ness, n. Etym: [From Happy.]
1. Good luck; good fortune; prosperity. All happiness bechance to thee in Milan! Shak.
2. An agreeable feeling or condition of the soul arising from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind; the possession of those circumstances or that state of being which is attended enjoyment; the state of being happy; contentment; joyful satisfaction; felicity; blessedness.
3. Fortuitous elegance; unstudied grace; -- used especially of language. Some beauties yet no precepts can declare, For there's a happiness, as well as care. Pope.
Syn.
– Happiness, Felicity, Blessedness, Bliss. Happiness is generic, and is applied to almost every kind of enjoyment except that of the animal appetites; felicity is a more formal word, and is used more sparingly in the same general sense, but with elevated associations; blessedness is applied to the most refined enjoyment arising from the purest social, benevolent, and religious affections; bliss denotes still more exalted delight, and is applied more appropriately to the joy anticipated in heaven. O happiness! our being's end and aim! Pope. Others in virtue place felicity, But virtue joined with riches and long life; In corporal pleasures he, and careless ease. Milton. His overthrow heaped happiness upon him; For then, and not till then, he felt himself, And found the blessedness of being little. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
13 January 2025
(noun) the process of becoming softened and saturated as a consequence of being immersed in water (or other liquid); “a good soak put life back in the wagon”
Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.
