Online Etymology Dictionary

happy: mid-14c., "lucky," from hap "chance, fortune" (see haphazard), sense of "very glad" first recorded late 14c. Ousted O.E. eadig (from ead "wealth, riches") and gesælig, which has become silly. O.E. bliðe "happy" survives as blithe. From Greek to Irish, a great majority of the European words for "happy" at first meant "lucky." An exception is Welsh, where the word used first meant "wise." Used in World War II and after as a suffix (e.g. bomb-happy, flak-happy) expressing "dazed or frazzled from stress." Happy hour "early evening period of discount drinks and free hors-d'oeuvres at a bar" is first recorded 1961. Happy-go-lucky is from 1670s. Happy as a clam (1630s) was originally happy as a clam in the mud at high tide, when it can't be dug up and eaten.
beatify: 1530s, "to make very happy," from post-Classical L. beatificare "make happy, make blessed," from L. beatus "supremely happy, blessed" (pp. of beare "to make happy, to bless") + -ficare, from stem of facere "to make, do" (see factitious). The Roman Catholic Church sense of "to pronounce as being in heavenly bliss" (1620s) is the first step toward canonization.
silly: O.E. gesælig "happy" (related to sæl "happiness"), from W.Gmc. *sæligas (cf. O.N. sæll "happy," Goth. sels "good, kindhearted," O.S. salig, M.Du. salich, O.H.G. salig, Ger. selig "blessed, happy, blissful"), from PIE base *sel- "happy" (cf. Gk. hilaros "gay, cheerful," L. solari "to comfort," salvus "whole, safe"). The word's considerable sense development moved from "blessed" to "pious," to "innocent" (1200), to "harmless," to "pitiable" (c.1280), to "weak" (c.1300), to "feeble in mind, lacking in reason, foolish" (1576). Further tendency toward "stunned, dazed as by a blow" (1886) in knocked silly, etc. Silly season in journalism slang is from 1861 (August and September, when newspapers compensate for a lack of hard news by filling up with trivial stories). Silly Putty trademark claims use from July 1949.
felicitate: 1620s, “to render happy;” 1630s, “to reckon happy;” from pp. stem of L. felicitare, from felix (see felicity). Related: Felicitated; felicitating.
frolic: 1530s, as an adj., from M.Du. vrolyc (adj.) "happy," from vro- "merry, glad," + lyc "like." Cognate of Ger. fröhlich "happy." The verb is first attested 1580s. Related: Frolicked; frolicking.
beatitude: late 15c., "supreme happiness," from Fr. béatitude, from L. beatitudinem (nom. beatitudo) "state of blessedness," from beatus "happy, blessed," pp. of beare "make happy," related to bene-. As "a declaration of blessedness" (usually pl., beatitudes, especially in ref. to the Sermon on the Mount) it is attested from 1520s.
Beatrice: fem. proper name, from Fr. Béatrice, from L. beatrix, fem. of beatricem "who makes happy," from beatus "happy" (see beatitude).
blithe: O.E. bliþe "joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant," from P.Gmc. *blithiz "gentle, kind" (cf. O.S. bliði "bright, happy," O.N. bliðr "mild, gentle," O.H.G. blidi "gay, friendly," Goth. bleiþs "kind, friendly, merciful"). Rare since 16c. No cognates outside Gmc. "The earlier application was to the outward expression of kindly feeling, sympathy, affection to others, as in Gothic and ON.; but in OE. the word had come more usually to be applied to the external manifestation of one's own pleased or happy frame of mind, and hence even to the state itself." [OED]
Asher: masc. proper name, biblical son of Jacob (also the name of a tribe descended from him), from Heb., lit. "happy."
Yemen: southwestern region of Arabia, from Arabic Yemen, lit. "the country of the south," from yaman "right side" (i.e., south side, if one is facing east). The right side regarded as auspicious, hence Arabic yamana "he was happy," lit. "he went to the right," and hence the L. name for the region in Roman times, Arabia Felix, lit, "Happy Arabia."
cushy: 1915, Anglo-Indian slang, from Hindi khush "pleasant, healthy, happy."
blessed: late 12c., "supremely happy," also "consecrated" (c.1200), pp. adj. from bless (q.v.). Reversed or ironic sense of "cursed, damned" is recorded from 1806.
happiness: 1520s, "good fortune," from happy + -ness. Meaning "pleasant and contented mental state" is from 1590s.
godsend: 1814, "a wreck," from God's send, from God (q.v.) + M.E. sande "that which is sent, message." Sense of "happy chance" is from 1831.
upbeat (adj.): "with a positive mood," 1947, apparently from the musical noun upbeat (1869), referring to the beat of a bar at which the conductor's baton is in a raised position; the "optimistic" sense apparently for no other reason than that it sounds like a happy word (the musical upbeat is no more inherently "positive" than any other beat).
unhappy: c.1300, "causing misfortune or trouble (to oneself or others)," from un- (1) "not" + happy. Meaning "unfortunate, unlucky" is recorded from late 14c.; sense of "miserable, wretched" is recorded from late 14c. (originally via misfortune or mishap).
euthanasia: c.1600, from Gk. euthanasia "an easy or happy death," from eu- "good" + thanatos "death." Sense of "legally sanctioned mercy killing" is first recorded in English 1869.
solace (n.): "comfort, consolation," late 13c., from O.Fr. solas, from L. solacium, from solatus, pp. of solari "to console, soothe," from PIE base *sel- "of good mood, to favor" (cf. Gk. hilaros "merry," O.E. gesælig "happy;" see silly). The verb is recorded from c.1300.
felicity: late 14c., from O.Fr. felicite, from L. felicitatem (nom. felicitas) "happiness," from felix (gen. felicis) "happy, fortunate," from L. base *fe-, equivalent of PIE *dhe(i)- "to suck, suckle, produce, yield" (see fecund).
in-law: 1894, "anyone of a relationship not natural," abstracted from father-in-law, etc.
"The position of the 'in-laws' (a happy phrase which is attributed ... to her Majesty, than whom no one can be better acquainted with the article) is often not very apt to promote happiness." ["Blackwood's Magazine," 1894]
The earliest recorded use of the phrase is in brother-in-law (13c.); the law is Canon Law, which defines degrees of relationship within which marriage is prohibited.
calligraphy: 1610s, from Gk. kaligraphia, from kallos "beauty" + graphein "to write" (see graph). Related: Calligraphic. The usual comb. form in Gk. was kalli- "beautiful, fine, happy, favorable;" kalo- was a later, rarer alternative form.
chuff: "pleased, happy," c.1860, British dial., from obs. chuff "swollen with fat" (1530). A second British dial. chuff has an opposite meaning, "displeased, gruff" (1832), from chuff "rude fellow" (c.1450).
fain: O.E. fægen, fagen "glad, cheerful, happy," from a common Gmc. root (cf. O.N. feginn "glad," O.H.G. faginon, Goth. faginon "to rejoice").
prosper: mid-15c., from O.Fr. prosperer (14c.), from L. prosperare "cause to succeed, render happy," from prosperus "favorable, fortunate, prosperous," perhaps lit. "agreeable to one's wishes," from Old L. pro spere "according to expectation," from pro "for" + abl. of spes "hope," from PIE base *spei- "to flourish, succeed."
trigger (n.): 1660, earlier tricker (1621), from Du. trekker "trigger," from trekken "to pull" (see trek). Tricker was the usual form in Eng. until c.1750. The verb is first recorded 1930, from the noun. Trigger-happy is attested from 1943.
melodrama: 1802, melodrame, "a stage-play in which songs were interspersed and music accompanied the action," from Fr. mélodrame, from Gk. melos "song" (see melody) + Fr. drame "drama" (see drama). Meaning "a romantic and sensational dramatic piece with a happy ending" is from 1883, since this was often the form of the original melodramas.
unhappily: early 14c., from un- (2) + happily (see happy). Cf. O.N. unheppiliga.
medium (n.): 1584, "a middle ground, quality, or degree," from L. medium, from neut. of adj. medius (see medial). Meaning "intermediate agency, channel of communication" is from 1605. That of "person who conveys spiritual messages" first recorded 1853, from notion of "substance through which something is conveyed." Artistic sense (oil, watercolors, etc.) is from 1854. The adj. is 1670, from the noun; as a designation of cooked meat, it is attested from 1939. Happy medium is the "golden mean," Horace's aurea mediocritas.
slap (v.): 1632, probably of imitative origin, similar to Low Ger. slappe, Ger. Schlappe. The noun is recorded from 1648; fig. meaning "insult" is attested from 1736. Slapdash (1679) is first attested in Dryden. Slap-happy (1936) originally meant "punch-drunk." Slapshot in ice hockey is recorded from 1942. Slap on the wrist "very mild punishment" dates from 1914.
Puritan: 1560s, "opponent of Anglican hierarchy," later applied opprobriously to "person in Church of England who seeks further reformation" (1570s), probably from purity (q.v.). After c.1590s, applied to anyone deemed overly strict in matters of religion and morals.
"The Puritan hated bear-baiting, not because it gave pain to the bear, but because it gave pleasure to the spectators." [Thomas Babington Macaulay, "History of England," 1849]
Puritanism (1570s) was famously defined by H.L. Mencken as "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy" (1920).
hunt: O.E. huntian "chase game," related to hentan "to seize," from P.Gmc. *khuntojan (cf. Goth. hinþan "to seize, capture," O.H.G. hunda "booty"), from PIE *kend-. General sense of "search diligently" (for anything) is first recorded c.1200. The noun meaning "body of persons associated for the purpose of hunting with a pack of hounds" is first recorded 1579. Happy hunting-grounds "Native American afterlife paradise" is from "Last of the Mohicans" (1826).
Benjamin: masc. proper name, in O.T., Jacob's youngest son (Gen. xxxv.18), from Heb. Binyamin, lit. "son of the south," though interpreted in Genesis as "son of the right hand," from ben "son of" + yamin "right hand," also "south" (in an East-oriented culture). Cf. Arabic cognate yaman "right hand, right side, south;" yamana "he was happy," lit. "he turned to the right." The right was regarded as auspicious (see left and dexterity). Slang meaning "money" (by 1999) is from portrait of Benjamin Franklin on U.S. $100 bill.
return: mid-14c., "to come back," from O.Fr. retorner "turn back, return," from re- "back" + torner "to turn" (see turn). Transitive sense is attested from early 15c. The noun is first attested late 14c., "act of coming back;" in the tennis sense, it is from 1886. Meaning "official report of election results" is attested from mid-15c. Meaning "a yield, a profit" is recorded from 1620s. Many happy returns of the day was used by Addison, 1716.
schadenfreude: "malicious joy in the misfortunes of others," 1922, from Ger., lit. "damage-joy," from schaden "damage, harm, injury" (see scathe) + freude, from O.H.G. frewida "joy," from fro "happy," lit. "hopping for joy," from P.Gmc. *frawa- (see frolic).
"What a fearful thing is it that any language should have a word expressive of the pleasure which men feel at the calamities of others; for the existence of the word bears testimony to the existence of the thing. And yet in more than one such a word is found. ... In the Greek epikhairekakia, in the German, 'Schadenfreude.' " [Richard C. Trench, "On the Study of Words," 1852]
bless: O.E. bletsian, bledsian, Northumbrian bloedsian "to consecrate, make holy, give thanks," from P.Gmc. *blothisojan "mark with blood," from *blotham "blood" (see blood). Originally a blood sprinkling on pagan altars. This word was chosen in O.E. bibles to translate L. benedicere and Gk. eulogein, both of which have a ground sense of "to speak well of, to praise," but were used in Scripture to translate Heb. brk "to bend (the knee), worship, praise, invoke blessings." Meaning shifted in late O.E. toward "pronounce or make happy," by resemblance to unrelated bliss. No cognates in other languages.
up (adv.): O.E. up, uppe, from P.Gmc. *upp- "up" (cf. O.Fris. up; O.N. upp; Dan., Du. op; O.H.G. uf, Ger. auf "up"; Goth. iup "up, upward," uf "on, upon, under;" OHG oba, Ger. ob "over, above, on, upon"), from PIE base *upo "up from below" (cf. Skt. upa "near, under, up to, on," Gk. hypo "under, below," L. sub "under;" see sub-). Meaning "exhilarated, happy" first attested 1815. Musical up tempo (adj.) is recorded from 1948. Up-and-coming "promising" is from 1848. Phrase on the up-(and-up) "honest, straightforward" first attested 1863, Amer.Eng. Up the river "in jail" first recorded 1891, originally in reference to Sing Sing, which is up the Hudson from New York City. To drive someone up the wall (1951) is from the notion of the behavior of lunatics or caged animals.
success: 1530s, "result, outcome," from L. successus "an advance, succession, happy outcome," from succedere "come after" (see succeed). Meaning "accomplishment of desired end" (good success) first recorded 1580s. Successor "one who comes after" is recorded from late 13c.
"The moral flabbiness born of the bitch-goddess SUCCESS. That -- with the squalid interpretation put on the word success -- is our national disease." [William James to H.G. Wells, Sept. 11, 1906]
Success story is attested from 1925. Among the French phrases used in English late 19c. were succès d'estime "cordial reception given to a literary work out of respect rather than admiration" and succès de scandale "success (especially of a work of art) dependent upon its scandalous character."
comedy: late 14c., from O.Fr. comedie, from L. comoedia, from Gk. komoidia "a comedy, amusing spectacle," from komodios "singer in the revels," from komos "revel, carousal" + oidos "singer, poet," from aeidein "to sing." The classical sense is similar to the modern one, but in the Middle Ages the word came to mean poems and stories generally (albeit ones with happy endings), and the earliest Eng. sense is "narrative poem" (cf. Dante's "Commedia"). Comedy aims at entertaining by the fidelity with which it presents life as we know it; farce at raising laughter by the outrageous absurdity of the situation or characters exhibited; extravaganza at diverting by its fantastic nature; burlesque at tickling the fancy of the audience by caricaturing plays or actors with whose style it is familiar. Generalized sense of "quality of being amusing" dates from 1877.
fecund: early 15c., from O.Fr. fecond, from L. fecundus "fruitful, fertile," from *fe-kwondo-, suffixed form of L. base *fe-, corresponding to PIE *dhe(i)- "to suck, suckle," also "produce, yield" (cf. Skt. dhayati "sucks," dhayah "nourishing;" Gk. thele "mother's breast, nipple," thelys "female, fruitful;" O.C.S. dojiti "to suckle," dojilica "nurse," deti "child;" Lith. dele "leech;" O.Prus. dadan "milk;" Goth. daddjan "to suckle;" O.Swed. dia "suckle;" O.H.G. tila "female breast;" O.Ir. denaim "I suck," dinu "lamb"). Also from the same L. base come felare "to suck;" femina "woman" (*fe-mna-, lit. "she who suckles"); felix "happy, auspicious, fruitful;" fetus "offspring, pregnancy;" fenum "hay" (probably lit. "produce"); and probably filia/filius "daughter/son," assimilated from *felios, originally "a suckling."
tickle: early 14c. (intrans.) "to be thrilled or tingling," of uncertain origin, possibly a frequentative form of tick (2) in its older sense of "to touch." The OE form was tinclian. Some suggest a metathesis of kittle (M.E. kytyllen), from Du. kietelen, from a common North Sea Gmc. word for "to tickle" (cf. O.N. kitla, O.H.G. kizzilon, Ger. kitzeln). Meaning "to excite agreeably" (late 14c.) is a translation of L. titillare. Meaning "to touch lightly so as to cause a peculiar and uneasy sensation" is recorded from late 14c.; that of "to poke or touch so as to excite laughter" is from early 15c.; figurative sense of "to excite, amuse" is attested from 1680s. The noun is recorded from 1801. Ticklish in the lit. sense of "easily tickled" is recorded from 1598, later than the fig. sense (1580s); an earlier word for this was tickly (1520s). Tickled "pleased, happy" is from 1580s.
bread (n.): O.E. bread "bit, crumb, morsel; bread," cognate with O.N. brauð, Dan. brød, O.Fris. brad, M.Du. brot, Du. brood, Ger. Brot). According to one theory [Watkins, etc.] from from P.Gmc. *brautham, which would be from the root of brew and refer to the leavening. But OED argues at length for the basic sense being not "cooked food" but "piece of food," and the O.E. word deriving from a P.Gmc. *braudsmon- "fragments, bits" (cf. O.H.G. brosma "crumb," O.E. breotan "to break in pieces") and being related to the root of break. It cites Slovenian kruh "bread," lit. "a piece." Either way, by c.1200 it had replaced the usual O.E. word for "bread," which was hlaf (see loaf). Slang meaning "money" dates from 1940s, but cf. breadwinner. Bread-and-butter in the figurative sense of "basic needs" is from 1732. Bread and circuses (1914) is from L., in ref. to food and entertainment provided by governments to keep the populace happy. "Duas tantum res anxius optat, Panem et circenses" [Juvenal, Sat. x.80].