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Dictionary / delight

delight

/dəˈlaɪt/ /dɪˈlaɪt/
  • noun
  • verb
  • from Old French

Joy; pleasure.

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1 All current definitions

Every sense of “delight” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.

noun

  1. countableuncountableJoy; pleasure.

    A fool hath no delight in understanding.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 18:2:

  2. countableuncountableSomething that gives great joy or pleasure.

    Greensleeves was all my joy / Greensleeves was my delight, […]1580, Greensleeves:

Wiktionary: “delight” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

verb

  1. To give delight to; to affect with great pleasure; to please highly.

    A beautiful landscape delights the eye.

  2. intransitiveTo have or take great pleasure.

    For I have loved you well and long, / Delighting in your company.1580, Greensleeves:

Wiktionary: “delight” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
Cross-check: WordNet senses (5)
  1. nouna feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction — also: delectation
  2. nounsomething or someone that provides a source of happiness — also: joy, pleasure
  3. verbgive pleasure to or be pleasing to — also: please
  4. verbtake delight in — also: enjoy, revel
  5. verbhold spellbound — also: enchant, enrapture, transport, enthrall, ravish
Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License

Synonyms: delection

Wiktionary: “delight” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

2 History of the word

The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.

The word’s journey, newest to oldest:

  1. English (today)delight
  2. Middle Englishdelite
  3. Old Frenchdeleiter
  4. Latindēlectāre “to delight, please”
  5. Latindē- “away” + laciō “to lure, to deceive”
  6. Proto-Italic*lakjō “to draw, pull”

Attested from the 13th century, from Middle English delite, from Old French deleiter, deliter, from Latin dēlectāre (“to delight, please”), frequentative of dēlicere (“to allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, to deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Doublet of delect. Related with delectation, delicate, delicious and dilettante. The modern unetymological spelling (instead of expected delite) is influenced by light and other words ending in -ight, such as might, bright, etc. The -gh- may also be an attempt to represent the Latin -c-; compare obsolete indight for indict.

Wiktionary: “delight” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Derivatives — words built from “delight”

delightfuldelightlessdelightlydelightsomeundelightdelighterdelightinglyundelighting

Phrases & compounds

afternoon delightBuddha's delightCupid's delightdevil's delightduper's delightduping delightgardener's delightHeart's Delightidiot's delightIdiot's Delightlumps of delightqueen's delighttake delight intraveler's delightTurkish delightwhaler's delightdelight in

Related terms

delicacydelicatedelicatessendelicious
Wiktionary: “delight” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Want to go deeper? See also “delight” on Etymonline ↗

3 Original language

Where “delight” came from before it was English.

Came into English from
Old French
Old French deleiter
Oldest written form
Latin
Latin dē- + laciō
Deepest root (reconstructed)
Proto-Italic
Proto-Italic *lakjō “to draw, pull”

The source marks part of this history as uncertain (it uses words like “perhaps” or “possibly”). Read the full etymology above before treating any single origin as certain.

Wiktionary: “delight” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

4 Original meaning

What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.

Reconstructed Proto-Italic root
“to draw, pull”
Proto-Italic *lakjō — rebuilt by linguists from its descendants; never written down.
Wiktionary: “delight” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913

A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.

delight n. [OE. delit, OF. delit, deleit, fr. delitier, to delight. See Delight, v. t.]

  1. A high degree of gratification of mind; a high- wrought state of pleasurable feeling; lively pleasure; extreme satisfaction; joy.
  2. That which gives great pleasure or delight.
  3. Licentious pleasure; lust.

delight v. t. [OE. deliten, OF. delitier, deleitier, F. d, fr. L. delectare to entice away, to delight (sc. by attracting or alluring), intens. of delicere to allure, delight; de- + lacere to entice, allure; cf. laqueus a snare. Cf. Delectate, Delicate, Delicious, Dilettante, Elicit, Lace.]

  1. To give delight to; to affect with great pleasure; to please highly; as, a beautiful landscape delights the eye; harmony delights the ear.

delight v. i.

  1. To have or take great delight or pleasure; to be greatly pleased or rejoiced; -- followed by an infinitive, or by in.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), public domain, via GCIDE

5 Use it with confidence

Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.

nounMeaning: Joy; pleasure.

A fool hath no delight in understanding.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 18:2:

[…] the isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II

nounMeaning: Something that gives great joy or pleasure.

Greensleeves was all my joy / Greensleeves was my delight, […]1580, Greensleeves:

[…] Awake My fairest, my espous’d, my latest found, Heav’ns last best gift, my ever new delight,1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Te

verbMeaning: To give delight to; to affect with great pleasure; to please highly.

A beautiful landscape delights the eye.

Delight our souls with talk of knightly deeds.1842, Tennyson, Le Morte d’Arthur:

verbMeaning: To have or take great pleasure.

For I have loved you well and long, / Delighting in your company.1580, Greensleeves:

He was an eisteddfodwr and delighted to hear good singing, whether it was in the sanctuary or at the eisteddfodic gatherings.1908, T.J. Griffths, The Cambrian, volume 28, page 504:

nounMeaning: a feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction

his delight to see her was obvious to all

nounMeaning: something or someone that provides a source of happiness

the new car is a delight

verbMeaning: take delight in

he delights in his granddaughter

Princeton WordNet 3.0 — WordNet License
Wiktionary: “delight” (via kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0

Three steps to owning it

  1. Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
  2. Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
  3. Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?

6 The mastery game

Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.

Step 1 of 7

Say it, then spell it

delight

/dəˈlaɪt/

Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.

Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________

delight

/dəˈlaɪt/ · noun, verb

Step 1 — Say it and write it

Say “delight” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.

Step 2 — Know every meaning

Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.

1. (noun) Joy; pleasure.
2. (noun) Something that gives great joy or pleasure.
3. (verb) To give delight to; to affect with great pleasure; to please highly.
4. (verb) To have or take great pleasure.

Step 3 — History and origin

Which language did “delight” come into English from?   A. Old French  B. Middle French  C. Old Norse  D. French

Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):

Write three words built from “delight” and what each means:

Step 4 — Original meaning

The earliest traceable form is Proto-Italic *lakjō. What did it mean?

How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?

Step 5 — Use it yourself

Write a sentence using “delight” to mean: Joy; pleasure.
Write a sentence using “delight” to mean: Something that gives great joy or pleasure.
Write a sentence using “delight” to mean: To give delight to; to affect with great pleasure; to please highly.

☐ I can explain its meanings   ☐ I know its history   ☐ I know its original language   ☐ I know its original meaning   ☐ I can use it confidently

Answer key — delight

Origin: A. Old French (Old French deleiter)

Journey: English delight ← Middle English delite ← Old French deleiter ← Latin dēlectāre ← Latin dē- + laciō ← Proto-Italic *lakjō

Some derivatives: delightful, delightless, delightly, delightsome, undelight, delighter, delightingly, undelighting

Original meaning: Proto-Italic *lakjō — “to draw, pull”

Etymology: Attested from the 13th century, from Middle English delite, from Old French deleiter, deliter, from Latin dēlectāre (“to delight, please”), frequentative of dēlicere (“to allure, entice”), from dē- (“away”) + laciō (“to lure, to deceive”), from Proto-Italic *lakjō (“to draw, pull”), of unknown ultimate origin. Doublet of delect. Related with delectation, delicate, delicious and dilettante. The modern unetymological spelling (instead of expected delite) is influenced by light and other words ending in -ight, such as might, bright, etc. The -gh- may also be an attempt to represent the Latin -c-; compare obsolete indight for indict.

Sources: Wiktionary “delight” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/delight#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/delight