Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


jovial

jo′vi-al

,
Adj.
[F., fr. L.
Jovialis
pertaining to Jove. The planet Jupiter was thought to make those born under it joyful or jovial. See
Jove
.]
1.
[capitalized]
Of or pertaining to the god, or the planet, Jupiter.
[Obs.]
Our
jovial
star reigned at his birth.
Shakespeare
The fixed stars astrologically differenced by the planets, and esteemed Martial or
Jovial
according to the colors whereby they answer these planets.
Sir T. Browne.
2.
Sunny; serene.
[Obs.]
“The heavens always joviall.”
Spenser.
3.
Gay; merry; joyous; jolly; mirth-inspiring; hilarious; characterized by mirth or jollity;
as, a
jovial
youth; a
jovial
company; a
jovial
poem.
Be bright and
jovial
among your guests.
Shakespeare
His odes are some of them panegyrical, others moral; the rest are
jovial
or bacchanalian.
Dryden.
Syn. – Merry; joyous; gay; festive; mirthful; gleeful; jolly; hilarious.

Webster 1828 Edition


Jovial

JO'VIAL

,
Adj.
[from Jove, supra.] Under the influence of Jupiter, the planet.
--The fixed stars astrologically differenced by the planets, and esteemed Martial or Jovial according to the colors whereby they answer these planets.

JO'VIAL

, a.
1.
Gay; merry; airy; joyous; jolly; as a jovial youth; a jovial throng.
2.
Expressive of mirth and hilarity.
His odes are some of them panegyrical, others moral, the rest are jovial or bacchanalian.

Definition 2024


jovial

jovial

English

Adjective

jovial (comparative more jovial, superlative most jovial)

  1. (obsolete) Pertaining to Jove or Zeus; Jovian.
  2. (obsolete) Pertaining to the planet Jupiter; Jovian.
  3. (astrology, obsolete) Under the influence of the planet Jupiter (considered a source of happiness).
  4. Merry; cheerful and good-humored.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 16, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      “[…] She takes the whole thing with desperate seriousness. But the others are all easy and jovial—thinking about the good fare that is soon to be eaten, about the hired fly, about anything.”

Translations

Related terms


French

Etymology

Borrowing from Italian gioviale, from Latin ioviālis.

Pronunciation

Adjective

jovial m (feminine singular joviale, masculine plural joviaux, feminine plural joviales)

  1. jovial, jolly

German

Etymology

Borrowing from French jovial, from Italian gioviale, from Latin ioviālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /joˈviaːl/

Adjective

jovial

  1. jovial

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin ioviālis.

Adjective

jovial m, f (plural joviais, comparable)

  1. jovial; merry, cheerful

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin ioviālis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /xoˈβjal/

Adjective

jovial m, f (plural joviales)

  1. Jovian
  2. cheerful, jovial