hilarity
[hi-lar-i-tee, -lair-, hahy-]
- cheerfulness; merriment; mirthfulness.
- boisterous gaiety or merriment.
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Origin of hilarity
Synonyms
See more synonyms for hilarity on Thesaurus.com2. See mirth.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hilarities
Historical Examples
Never since my school-boy days have I loved so well as now the hilarities of life.
The Abominations of Modern SocietyRev. T. De Witt Talmage
hilarity
- mirth and merriment; cheerfulness
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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 hilarities
hilarity
n.
mid-15c., from Latin hilaritatem (nominative hilaritas) "cheerfulness, gaiety, merriment," from hilaris "cheerful, gay," from Greek hilaros "cheerful, gay, merry, joyous," related to hilaos "graceful, kindly." In ancient Rome, Hilaria (neuter plural of hilaris) were a class of holidays, times of pomp and rejoicing; there were public ones in honor of Cybele at the spring equinoxes as well as private ones on the day of a marriage or a son's birth.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper