glee
English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
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.
Noun edit
glee (countable and uncountable, plural glees)
- (uncountable) Joy; happiness; great delight, especially from one's own good fortune or from another's misfortune.
- 1968, “Sympathy for the Devil”, in The Rolling Stones (music), Beggars Banquet:
- I watched with glee while your kings and queens fought for ten decades for the gods they made.
- 2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:
- Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
- (uncountable) Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
- (singing, countable) An unaccompanied part song for three or more solo voices, not necessarily merry.
- 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 23, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
- Sometimes they had glees, when Captain Strong’s chest was of vast service, and he boomed out in a prodigious bass, of which he was not a little proud.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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Etymology 2 edit
From Middle English gleen, glewen, from Old English glēowian (“to sing, play an instrument, jest”), from Proto-West Germanic *glīwōn, from Proto-Germanic *glīwōną. Cognate with Icelandic glýja (“to be gleeful”).
Verb edit
glee (third-person singular simple present glees, present participle gleeing, simple past and past participle gleed)
- To sing a glee (unaccompanied part song).
Anagrams edit
Limburgish edit
Noun edit
glee f
- something that is wet because it has been pasted together
See also edit
Pennsylvania German edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German klein, kleine, from Old High German kleini, from Proto-Germanic *klainiz (“shining, fine, splendid, tender”), from Proto-Indo-European *gleh₁y- (“to cleave, stick”). Compare German klein, Dutch klein.
Adjective edit
glee