JOVIAL

gay, jocund, jolly, jovial, merry, mirthful

(adjective) full of or showing high-spirited merriment; “when hearts were young and gay”; “a poet could not but be gay, in such a jocund company”- Wordsworth; “the jolly crowd at the reunion”; “jolly old Saint Nick”; “a jovial old gentleman”; “have a merry Christmas”; “peals of merry laughter”; “a mirthful laugh”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

Jovial (not comparable)

(astronomy, obsolete) Pertaining to the planet Jupiter; Jovian.

(Roman mythology, obsolete) Pertaining to the Roman god Jove or Jupiter (the counterpart of the Greek god Zeus), the god of the sky and thunder and the king of the gods; Jovian.

Noun

Jovial (plural Jovials)

(chiefly, science fiction) An inhabitant of the planet Jupiter; a Jovian.

Etymology

Adjective

jovial (comparative more jovial, superlative most jovial)

(comparable) Cheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry.

Synonym: Thesaurus:happy

Antonyms: saturnine, Thesaurus:sad

(not comparable, astrology, obsolete) Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1).

Source: Wiktionary


Jo"vi*al, a. Etym: [F., fr. L. Jovialis pertaining to Jove. The planet Jupiter was thought to make those born under it joyful or jovial. See Jove.]

1. Of or pertaining to the god, or the planet, Jupiter. [Obs.] Our jovial star reigned at his birth. Shak. The fixed stars astrologically differenced by the planets, and esteemed Martial or Jovial according to the colors whereby they answer these planets. Sir T. Browne.

2. Sunny; serene. [Obs.] "The heavens always joviall." Spenser.

3. Gay; merry; joyous; jolly; mirth-inspiring; hilarious; characterized by mirth or jollity; as, a jovial youth; a jovial company; a jovial poem. Be bright and jovial among your guests. Shak. His odes are some of them panegyrical, others moral; the rest are jovial or bacchanalian. Dryden.

Note: This word is a relic of the belief in planetary influence. Other examples are saturnine, mercurial, martial, lunatic, etc.

Syn.

– Merry; joyous; gay; festive; mirthful; gleeful; jolly; hilarious.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

21 February 2025

RESTORATION

(noun) some artifact that has been restored or reconstructed; “the restoration looked exactly like the original”


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Coffee Trivia

Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method that originated in Italy. When making an espresso, a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure forces through finely-ground coffee beans. It has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages. Its smaller serving size will take three shots to equal a mug of standard brewed coffee.

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