English
happy
Happy comes from Middle English happy ‘fortunate, happy’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500happy‘fortunate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1535same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500happy‘fortunate’
- Englishearliest quotation 1535same form
Earliest quotation: 1535, Myles Coverdale: “Happye are thy men, and happie are these thy…”
Formed from hap ‘chance, luck, fortune’ + -y
Proto-Indo-European *kob-
Proto-Germanic *hampą ‘good luck, chance’
Old Norse happ ‘good luck’
Middle English hap ‘luck’
English hap
The story
From Middle English happy (‘fortunate, happy’), perhaps an alteration of Middle English happyn, happen (‘fortunate, happy’), possibly related to or from Old Norse heppinn (‘fortunate, happy’); and potentially assimilated to be equivalent to hap (‘chance, luck, fortune’) + -y.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kob-
through Proto-Germanic *hampą ‘happiness’
through Middle English hap ‘luck’
Today it means
adj Having a feeling arising from a consciousness of well-being or of enjoyment; enjoying good of any kind, such as comfort, peace, or tranquillity; blissful, contented, joyous.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English happy / happy