Where does “Joy” come from?
Joy (English) comes from Middle English joye, from Old French joie, from Latin gaudia, from Latin gaudium, from Latin -ium, from Latin -ius, from Proto-Italic -jōs, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.
Ancestry of “Joy”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | joye | joy; elation; gaiety |
| 2 | Old French | joie | joy; Alternative form of jouel |
| 3 | Latin | gaudia | nominative plural of gaudium; accusative plural... |
| 4 | Latin | gaudium | joy, delight |
| 5 | Latin | -ium | Suffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes... |
| 6 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |