Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

jovial

/ˈd͡ʒoʊ.vɪ.əl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.74 in modern English

Syllables
jov-i-al
IPA
/ˈd͡ʒoʊ.vɪ.əl/
16
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Pertaining to the planet Jupiter; Jovian.

Obsolete

adj

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.

Obsolete

noun

An inhabitant of the planet Jupiter; a Jovian.

Example Sentences

Etymology

First attested in 1590; borrowed from Middle French jovial (“under the influence of Jupiter; of Jove; jovial, jolly”), from Italian gioviale (“(now obsolete) born under the influence of the planet Jupiter”) (attested in Dante, Paradiso, canto XVIII, early 14th century), from Late Latin Ioviālis (“relating to the Roman god Jupiter”), from Iuppiter, Iovis (“the Roman god Jove or Jupiter, counterpart of the Greek god Zeus”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“to be bright; heaven, sky”)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship); analysable as Jove + -ial. Sense 1 (“cheerful and good-humoured”) refers to the fact that individuals born under the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter were believed to have that disposition.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.vɪ.əl/
  • British English: /ˈd͡ʒəʊ.vɪ.əl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more jovial (comparative) most jovial (superlative) joviall (alternative) Jovials (plural)

Derived Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Antonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce jovial?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒoʊ.vɪ.əl/.
What does jovial mean?
Cheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry.
Where does jovial come from?
It is traced to Italian. First known use: First attested in 1590.

How to pronounce jovial

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “jovial”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈd͡ʒoʊ.vɪ.əl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “jovial”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “jovial” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.