Gaiety
/ˈɡeɪ.ə.ti/noun
Cheerfulness, merriment, or a lively state of joy.
Did you know?In Middle English and Early Modern English, the ancestor of this word could suggest not just cheerfulness but also a kind of dazzling, heedless brightness — the same emotional radiance later echoed in words like glamour.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*gawaz?
“uncertain; often linked to a sense of joy or brightness in later Germanic forms”
Old French
OF
gai
“cheerful, lively, joyous”
Middle English
ME
gai
“merry, bright, vivacious; later also showy or lighthearted”
15th Century
English
gayness
“cheerfulness, merriment, or lively disposition”
18th Century
English
gaiety
“quality of being merry, cheerful, or lighthearted”
Modern English
English
gaiety
“cheerfulness, merriment, or a lively state of joy”