noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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glē
/ɡliː/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iː
CMU ARPABET:G L IY1
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Joy; happiness; great delight, especially from one's own good fortune or from another's misfortune.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gloat, gloating
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: satisfaction
History
Etymology
From Middle English gle, from Old English glēo, glīġ, glēow, glīw (“glee, pleasure, mirth, play, sport; music; mockery”), from Proto-West Germanic *glīw, from Proto-Germanic *glīwą (“joy, mirth”), from Proto-Indo-European *ghlew- (“to joke, make fun, enjoy”). Cognate with Scots gle, glie, glew (“game, play, sport, mirth, joy, rejoicing, entertainment, melody, music”), Icelandic glý (“joy, glee, gladness”), Ancient Greek χλεύη (khleúē, “joke, jest, scorn”). A poetic word in Middle English, the word was obsolete by 1500, but revived late 18c.
From Middle English gleen, glewen, from Old English glēowian (“to sing, play an instrument, jest”), from Proto-West Germanic *glīwōn, from Proto-Germanic *glīwōną. Cognate with Icelandic glýja (“to be gleeful”).
Across languages
Translations
55 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
بَهْجَة
(bahja)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Bulgarian:
радост
(radost)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Bulgarian:
веселие
(veselie)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Bulgarian:
ликуване
(likuvane)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Catalan:
alegria
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Catalan:
joia
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Czech:
radost
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Czech:
veselí
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Czech:
veselost
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Dutch:
vrolijkheid
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Esperanto:
ĝojo
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Finnish:
ilo
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Finnish:
riemu
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
French:
joie
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Galician:
gozo
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Galician:
pracer
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Georgian:
მხიარულება
(mxiaruleba)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Georgian:
ზეიმი
(zeimi)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
German:
Freude
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
German:
Fröhlichkeit
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
German:
Ausgelassenheit
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Greek:
ευωχία
(evochía)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Italian:
gioia
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Italian:
allegria
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Norwegian:
glede
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Persian:
شادی
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Plautdietsch:
Freid
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Polish:
radość
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Polish:
zadowolenie
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Portuguese:
alegria
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Russian:
ликова́ние
(likovánije)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Russian:
весе́лье
(vesélʹje)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Russian:
ра́дость
(rádostʹ)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Serbo-Croatian:
veselje
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Serbo-Croatian:
likovanje
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Spanish:
alegría
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Swedish:
glädje
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Swedish:
fröjd
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Swedish:
munterhet
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Tagalog:
saya
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Tagalog:
ligaya
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Tagalog:
galak
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Tagalog:
tuwa
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Thai:
ความยินดี
(kwaam-yin-dii)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Thai:
ความสะใจ
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Ukrainian:
радість
(radistʹ)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
Ukrainian:
веселощі
(veselošči)
— Joy; merriment; mirth; gayety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast
German:
Rundgesang
— Music; minstrelsy; entertainment
Portuguese:
música
— Music; minstrelsy; entertainment
Portuguese:
canção
— Music; minstrelsy; entertainment
Russian:
му́зыка
(múzyka)
— Music; minstrelsy; entertainment
Russian:
развлече́ния
(razvlečénija)
— Music; minstrelsy; entertainment
German:
Rundgesang
— An unaccompanied part song for three or more solo voices
Russian:
пе́сня
(pésnja)
— An unaccompanied part song for three or more solo voices
Russian:
песнопе́ние
(pesnopénije)
— An unaccompanied part song for three or more solo voices