bliss

See also: Bliss

English

Etymology

From Middle English bliss, from Old English bliss, variant of earlier blīds, blīþs (“joy, gladness”), from Proto-West Germanic *blīþisi (“joy, goodness, kindness”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blɪs/
• Rhymes: -ɪs

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

bliss (countable and uncountable, plural blisses)

1. Perfect happiness.

   The afternoon at the spa was utter bliss.

   • a. 1851, William Wordsworth, “The French Revolution as It Appeared to Enthusiasts at Its Commencement”, in Henry [Hope] Reed, editor, The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, Philadelphia, Pa.: Hayes & Zell, […], published 1860, →OCLC, page 188:

     Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, / But to be young was very heaven!

   • 1918 August, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Bliss”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 116:

     What can you do if you are thirty and, turning the corner of your own street, you are overcome, suddenly, by a feeling of bliss—absolute bliss!—as though you'd suddenly swallowed a bright piece of that late afternoon sun and it burned in your bosom, sending out a little shower of sparks into every particle, into every finger and toe?

   • 2002, CYNE (lyrics and music), “Steady”, in Movements‎^[1]:

     So who is this saying that money is bliss? / Your logic remiss / You and the devil about to kiss

Derived terms

• blissdom
• blissed
• blissed up
• blissen
• blissful
• blissless
• bliss ninny
• blissome
• bliss out
• bliss point
• blissy
• embliss
• enbliss
• follow one's bliss
• ignorance is bliss
• unbliss

 

Translations

perfect happiness

• Arabic: نَعِيم m (naʕīm)
• Belarusian: асало́да f (asalóda), блажэ́нства n (blažénstva), бла́гасць f (bláhascʹ)
• Bulgarian: блаже́нство (bg) n (blažénstvo)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 極樂／极乐 (zh) (jílè), 喜悅／喜悦 (zh) (xǐyuè), 福佑 (zh) (fúyòu), 幸福 (zh) (xìngfú)

• Czech: blaženost f, blaho (cs) n
• Dutch: gelukzaligheid (nl) f, verrukking (nl) f
• Esperanto: beato (eo), beateco
• Finnish: onni (fi), autuus (fi)
• French: béatitude (fr) f, félicité (fr) f
• Georgian: ნეტარება (neṭareba), განცხრომა (gancxroma)
• German: Glückseligkeit (de) f, Glück (de) n
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌴𐌹 f (audagei)
• Greek: ευδαιμονία (el) f (evdaimonía), μακαριότητα (el) f (makariótita)
• Hindi: आनन्द (hi) m (ānand)
• Hungarian: boldogság (hu)
• Italian: beatitudine (it)
• Japanese: 幸福 (ja) (こうふく, kōfuku), 至福 (ja) (しふく, shifuku)
• Macedonian: блаженство n (blaženstvo)
• Malay: kebahagiaan
• Maori: hākoakoa, mākoakoa, manahau
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: lykksalighet

• Old Church Slavonic: блажєньство n (blaženĭstvo)
• Old English: ēad n
• Old Saxon: ōd n
• Persian: سعادت (fa) (sa'âdat)
• Polish: błogość (pl) f, błogostan (pl) m
• Portuguese: júbilo (pt) m, gáudio (pt) m, êxtase (pt) f
• Romanian: beatitudine (ro) f, euforie (ro) f, extaz (ro) n
• Russian: блаже́нство (ru) n (blažénstvo)
• Serbo-Croatian: блаженство n, blaženstvo (sh) n
• Slovak: blaženosť f, blaho n
• Slovene: blaženost f
• Spanish: euforia (es) f, dicha (es) f, beatitud (es) f
• Swedish: lycksalighet (sv) c, lycka (sv) c
• Thai: ความผาสุก (th) (kwaam-pǎa-sùk)
• Turkish: mutluluk (tr), huzur (tr), erinç (tr), gönül rahatlığı (tr), dirlik (tr)
• Ukrainian: блаже́нство (uk) n (blažénstvo)
• Urdu: آنند (ur) m (ānand)

Old English

Etymology

From earlier blīds, blīþs, from Proto-West Germanic *blīþisi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bliss/, [blis]

Noun

bliss f

1. joy, bliss
   • 10th century, Exeter Book Riddle 8‎^[2]:

     Iċ…, eald ǣfensceōp, eorlum bringe blisse in burgum.

     I…, old evening scop, bring bliss in towns for brave men.

Inflection

Declension of bliss (strong ō-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	bliss	blissa, blisse
accusative	blisse	blissa, blisse
genitive	blisse	blissa
dative	blisse	blissum

Descendants

• Middle English: blys, blice, blisce, blise, blesse
  • English: bliss