Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “pleasure” come from?

Pleasure comes from Middle English plaisir, from Old French plesir, from Latin placere meaning "to please or be agreeable."

pleasure (English): A state of being pleased or contented;...

Definitions

  1. A state of being pleased or contented;...

Ancestry of “pleasure”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishpleasur—
2Middle Englishplaisirpleasure
3Old Frenchplaisirpleasure; to please
4Latinplaceō—

Words derived from “pleasure”

  • pleasurable
  • pleasurably
  • unpleasure
  • unpleasurable
  • pleasurableness
  • pleasureless
  • pleasureful
  • pleasurability
  • forepleasure
  • pleasurist
  • pleasurer
  • pleasuredome
  • antipleasure
  • unpleasurably
  • nonpleasurable
  • pleasureth
  • pleasuresome
  • pleasurefully
  • pleasurelessness
  • pleasurebot
  • pleasurest
  • pleasurization
  • self-pleasure
Every word from Latin placeō →