felicity

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The condition of being happy.
  2. Intense happiness.
  3. An instance of intense happiness.
  4. An apt and pleasing style in speech, writing, etc.; (countable) an apt and pleasing choice of words.
  5. Good luck; success; (countable) An instance of unexpected good luck; a stroke of luck; also, a lucky characteristic.
  6. Reproduction of a sign with fidelity.
  7. Something that is either a source of happiness or particularly apt.
  8. Period (as opposed to lifetime) utility.
name
  1. A female given name from English.

Pronunciation

/fɪˈlɪsɪti/ /fəˈlɪsəti/ [-ɾi] En-us-felicity.ogg

Word forms

felicity felicities

Etymology

From Middle English felicite (“bliss, happiness, joy; delight, pleasure; a source of happiness; good fortune; prosperity; well-being; of a planet: in an influential position”) [and other forms], borrowed from Old French felicité (modern French félicité (“bliss, happiness; felicity”)), from Latin fēlīcitātem, the accusative singular of fēlīcitās (“fertility, fruitfulness; happiness, felicity; good fortune; success”), from fēlīx (“happy; blessed, fortunate, lucky; fertile, fruitful; prosperous; auspicious, favourable”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to nurse, suckle”)) + -itās (a variant of -tās (suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being)).

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