glee

Meaning

Noun

1. Joy; happiness; great delight, especially from one's own good fortune or from another's misfortune.
2. Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
3. An unaccompanied part song for three or more solo voices, not necessarily merry.

Verb

To sing a glee (unaccompanied part song).

Synonyms

joy

😂

mirth

delight

gaiety

happiness

hilarity

gleefulness

cheerfulness

pleasure

gladness

rejoicing

gloat

elation

satisfaction

exultation

mirthfulness

gloating

merriment

exhilaration

gayness

bliss

mardigal

cantata

cheer

conviviality

enjoyment

festivity

hilariousness

humor

jocundity

jollity

joyfulness

jubilation

merrymaking

rapture

resilience

Schadenfreude

treat

part song

great joy

humour

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɡliː/

Etymology

From Middle English gle, from Old English glēo, glīġ, glēow, glīw (“glee, pleasure, mirth, play, sport; music; mockery”), from Proto-Germanic *glīwą (“joy, mirth”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰlew- (“to joke, make fun, enjoy”). Cognate with Scots gle, glie, glew (“game, play, sport, mirth, joy, rejoicing, entertainment, melody, music”), Icelandic glý (“joy, glee, gladness”), Ancient Greek χλεύη (khleúē, “joke, jest, scorn”). A poetic word in Middle English, the word was obsolete by 1500, but revived late 18c.