jovial
/ˈd͡ʒoʊ.vɪ.əl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.74 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Cheerful and good-humoured; jolly, merry.
adj
Pertaining to the astrological influence of the planet Jupiter; having the characteristics of a person under such influence (see sense 1).
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
- "A melancholy boddy is not the kindeſt nurſe for a chearely minde, (the joviall complexion is ſoverainly beholding to nature,) […]"
- "The moſt ſecure, happy, Ioviall & merry in the worlds eſteeme, are Princes & great men, free from melancholy, but for their cares, miſeries, ſuſpicions, Iealoſies, diſcontents, folly, & madneſſe, I referre you to Xenophons Tyrannus, where king Hieron diſcourſeth at large with Simonides the Poet, of this ſubject."
- "But being ill-used by the above-mentioned widow, he was very serious for a year and a half; and though, his temper being naturally jovial, he at last got over it, he grew careless of himself, and never dressed afterwards."
- "[I]n polite ſocieties, he is the eaſy, well-bred man of faſhion; and, in the more convivial parties, he is the jovial companion."
- "At length, my friends, the feaſt of life is o’er; / I’ve eat ſufficient, I can drink no more: / My nigh is come; I’ve ſpent a jovial day; ’Tis time to part; but, oh!—what is to pay?"
- "Running to the window, he opened it, and put out his head. No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious. Glorious!"
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/