jocund

American  

[jok-uhnd, joh-kuhnd] / ˈdʒɒk ənd, ˈdʒoʊ kənd /

adjective

1. cheerful; merry; blithe; glad.

   a witty and jocund group.

   Synonyms:

   jolly, blithesome, joyful, joyous

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jocund British  

/ dʒəʊˈkʌndɪtɪ, ˈdʒɒkənd /

adjective

1. of a humorous temperament; merry

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Synonym Usage

See jovial.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• quasi-jocund
  adjective
• unjocund
  adjective
• jocundity
  noun
• quasi-jocundly
  adverb
• jocundly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of jocund

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English jocound, from Late Latin jocundus, alteration of Latin jūcundus “pleasant,” equivalent to ju(vāre) “to help, benefit, please, delight” + -cundus adjective suffix

Explanation

You know that teacher who always has a goofy smile on his face and a bad pun for the kids? He's got a jocund personality, meaning he's merry and cheerful. The word jocund came from the influence of two Latin words, jocundus, which means pleasant, and jocus, which is just what it sounds like: a joke. Usually the word is used to describe people, but not always. Say your family gets together every year for a big, merry barbecue — you could describe it as a jocund gathering, or a jocund weekend. It's a sort of old-fashioned word, though, so use it sparingly.