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hilarity

 - 3 dictionary results

hi⋅lar⋅i⋅ty

  [hi-lar-i-tee, -lair-, hahy-]
Use hilarity in a Sentence
–noun
1. cheerfulness; merriment; mirthfulness.
2. boisterous gaiety or merriment.
Origin:
1560–70; earlier hilaritie < L hilaritās, equiv. to hilari(s) (see hilarious ) + -tās -ty 2

Synonyms:
2. See mirth.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To hilarity
hi·lar·i·ty   (hĭ-lār'ĭ-tē, -lâr'-, hī-)   
n.  Great merriment.

[Middle English hilarite, good spirits, from Old French, from Latin hilaritās, from hilaris, cheerful, from Greek hilaros.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

hilarity 
1440, from L. hilaritas (gen. hilaritatis) "cheerfulness, gaiety," from hilaris "cheerful, gay," from Gk. hilaros, related to hilaos "graceful, kindly." In ancient Rome, Hilaria (neut. pl. of hilaris) were a class of holidays, times of pomp and rejoicing; there were public ones in honor of Cybele at the spring equinoxes as well as private ones on the day of a marriage or a son's birth.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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