rejoice

英文词源

rejoice

rejoice: [14] Rejoice was adapted from rejoiss-, the stem form of Old French rejoir ‘be joyful’. This was a compound verb formed from the intensive prefix re- and joir ‘be joyful’, which went back to Latin gaudēre ‘rejoice’, ultimate source of English joy. English originally used rejoice for ‘enjoy the possession of’. This survived until as late as the 16th century (‘Many covetous men do we see … to whom God gives power to get riches … but not liberty to rejoice and use them’, Sir Geoffrey Fenton, Golden Epistles 1577), and may lie behind the modern use of rejoice in for ‘possess’.
=> joy

rejoice (v.)

c. 1300, "to own, possess, enjoy the possession of, have the fruition of," from Old French rejoiss-, present participle stem of rejoir, resjoir "gladden, rejoice," from re-, which here is of obscure signification, perhaps an intensive (see re-), + joir "be glad," from Latin gaudere "rejoice" (see joy).

Originally sense in to rejoice in. Meaning "to be full of joy" is recorded from late 14c. Middle English also used simple verb joy "to feel gladness; to rejoice" (mid-13c.) and rejoy (early 14c.). Related: Rejoiced; rejoicing.