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blithe

[blahyth, blahyth]
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adjective, blith·er, blith·est.
  1. joyous, merry, or happy in disposition; glad; cheerful: Everyone loved her for her blithe spirit.
  2. without thought or regard; carefree; heedless: a blithe indifference to anyone's feelings.
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Origin of blithe

before 1000; Middle English; Old English blīthe; cognate with Old Norse blīthr, Old High German blīdi, Gothic bleiths
Related formsblithe·ful, adjectiveblithe·ful·ly, adverbblithe·ly, adverbblithe·ness, nouno·ver·blithe, adjective

Synonyms

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1. happy, mirthful, sprightly, light-hearted, buoyant, joyful, blithesome.

Antonyms

1. joyless.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for blitheness

Historical Examples

  • He wore an air of blitheness which, though silent, was overdone.

    Bonaventure

    George Washington Cable

  • Certainly of Greek blitheness and directness there was no trace.

    Robert Elsmere

    Mrs. Humphry Ward

  • Thereupon they parted with no blitheness, and Cormac went to his ship.

  • “Not in it with the Cubs,” he announced, blitheness in his manner.

    What's-His-Name

    George Barr McCutcheon

  • All the blitheness was with Nikolaus; we others could not shake off our depression.

British Dictionary definitions for blitheness

blithe

adjective
  1. very happy or cheerful
  2. heedless; casual and indifferent
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Derived Formsblithely, adverbblitheness, noun

Word Origin

Old English blīthe
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for blitheness

blithe

adj.

Old English bliþe "joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant," from Proto-Germanic *blithiz "gentle, kind" (cf. Old Saxon bliði "bright, happy," Middle Dutch blide, Dutch blijde, Old Norse bliðr "mild, gentle," Old High German blidi "gay, friendly," Gothic bleiþs "kind, friendly, merciful").

Rare since 16c. No cognates outside Germanic. "The earlier application was to the outward expression of kindly feeling, sympathy, affection to others, as in Gothic and ON.; but in OE. the word had come more usually to be applied to the external manifestation of one's own pleased or happy frame of mind, and hence even to the state itself." [OED]

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper