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felicity

[fi-lis-i-tee]
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noun, plural fe·lic·i·ties.
  1. the state of being happy, especially in a high degree; bliss: marital felicity.
  2. an instance of this.
  3. a source of happiness.
  4. a skillful faculty: felicity of expression.
  5. an instance or display of this: the many felicities of the poem.
  6. Archaic. good fortune.
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Origin of felicity

1350–1400; Middle English felicite (< Anglo-French) < Latin fēlīcitās, equivalent to fēlīci- (stem of fēlīx) happy + -tās -ty2
Related formsnon·fe·lic·i·ty, noun

Synonyms

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1. See happiness.

Felicity

[fi-lis-i-tee]
noun
  1. a female given name, form of Felicia.
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Also Fe·lic·i·ta [fi-lis-i-tuh] /fɪˈlɪs ɪ tə/.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for felicity

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • It seemed to them as if their felicity in seeing each other could never be exhausted.

    The Dream

    Emile Zola

  • Would to Heaven I may thus atone for the past, and secure your future felicity!

  • It is not in the power of events to undermine the felicity of the virtuous.

    Imogen

    William Godwin

  • Every thing around him contributed to his felicity,—for alas!

    Gomez Arias

    Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso

  • He stood by the chair vacated by Felicity, and kept beating his hat on the back of it.

    The Christian

    Hall Caine

British Dictionary definitions for felicity

felicity

noun plural -ties
  1. happiness; joy
  2. a cause of happiness
  3. an appropriate expression or style
  4. the quality or display of such expressions or style
  5. philosophy appropriateness (of a speech act). The performative I appoint you ambassador can only possess felicity if uttered by one in whom the authority for such appointments is vested
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Word Origin

C14: from Latin fēlīcitās happiness, from fēlix happy
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 felicity

n.

late 14c., from Old French felicite (14c.) "happiness," from Latin felicitatem (nominative felicitas) "happiness, fertility," from felix (genitive felicis) "happy, fortunate, fruitful, fertile," from Latin root *fe-, equivalent of PIE *dhe(i)- "to suck, suckle, produce, yield" (see fecund).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper