English

Adjective

joyant ‎(comparative more joyant, superlative most joyant)

1. (rare, dated) Joyous, joyful or jolly.
   • 1904, Myra Kelly, Little Citizens

     Jealousy may have played some part in the misunderstanding, for it was undeniable that there was a sprightliness, a joyant brightness, in the flowing red scarf on Ignatius Aloysius's nautical breast, which was nowhere paralleled in Patrick's more subdued array.

   • 1910, Myra Kelly, New Faces

     The glow of joyant Camelot lit all the southern sky.

Related terms

• joyance

Etymology 2

Variant of giant.

Noun

joyant ‎(plural joyants)

1. Nonstandard spelling of giant.
   • 1834 April 1, “Great Men of Munster”, in The Irish Monthly Magazine of Politics and Literature, volume 3, page 48:

     ''Pon my conscience,' says the joyant, says he, 'I niver knew flour to get so tough in the bakin' before,' says he.