Glee

Pronunciation

• enPR: glÄ“, IPA: /É¡liː/
• Rhymes: -iː

Origin

From Middle English gle, from Old English glēo, glīġ, glēow, glīw ("glee, pleasure, mirth, play, sport; music; mockery"), from Proto-Germanic *glīwą ("joy, mirth"), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰlew- ("to joke, make fun, enjoy"). Cognate with Scots gle, glie, glew ("game, play, sport, mirth, joy, rejoicing, entertainment, melody, music"), Old Norse glȳ ("joy, glee, gladness"), Ancient Greek χλεύη (chleúē, "joke, jest, scorn"). A poetic word in Middle English, the word was obsolete by 1500, but revived late 18c.

Full definition of glee

Noun

1. (uncountable) Joy; merriment; mirth; gaiety; particularly, the mirth enjoyed at a feast.
• 1968, Sympathy for the Devil, I watched with glee while your kings and queens fought for ten decades for the gods they made.
• 2013-06-29, Travels and travails, Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
2. (uncountable) Music; minstrelsy; entertainment.
3. (music, countable) An unaccompanied part song for three or more solo voices, not necessarily merry.

Anagrams

• lege