Where does “jovial” come from?
jovial (German) comes from French jovial, from Middle French jovial, from Italian gioviale, from Latin ioviālis, from Latin iuppiter, from Proto-Italic djous patēr, from Proto-Italic *djous, from Proto-Indo-European dyḗws — to be bright; sky, heaven.
jovial (German): jovial
Definitions
- jovial
Ancestry of “jovial”, step by step
jovial traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French jovial
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | jovial | jovial, jolly |
| 2 | Middle French | jovial | under the influence of the planet Jupiter |
| 3 | Italian | gioviale | jolly, jovial |
| 4 | Latin | ioviālis | Jovian |
| 5 | Latin | iuppiter | Jupiter god of the sky and ruler of the Roman pantheon |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | djous patēr | Jupiter |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *djous | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dyḗws | sky, heaven; sky god |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dyéws | sky, heaven |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dyew- | to be bright; sky, heaven |
via Latin jovialis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | jovialis | — |